Cuz it's you and me
by very random rambler
Summary: Elena and Damon had a past but something tragic happened and now they don't remember each other anymore. Will they find a way back to each other? Will it be what it once was? Or will it be better? AU/AH.
1. And we meet again

_**Hey**_

_**I don't know how things work around here cuz I'm new. I've always been on the other side of the screen (figure of speech) so can someone help me a little. I know this gets said around here a lot but I'm going to do it anyway**_

_**This is my first fanfic. Please be kind :) Reviews are love.**_

_**P.S. Can somebody tell me what exactly is the function of a beta? Thanks! :D**_

* * *

(Present Day)

I didn't know what to say. There was this weird sense of déjà vu that I had met this man before but I couldn't place him anywhere I might have been before. Maybe the coffee house I worked at after four years ago after I graduated or the bar I waitresses at during my internship, I pondered to myself. No. Not even there.

"Well?" Came a voice from the man whose thoughts I had been lost in.

I forgot about the initial problem and spurt out, "I think I've seen you before."

"That's unfortunate for you Missy. You're still going to have to pay up and might I add urgently because I cannot afford to engage in meaningless conversations with girls who can't drive and enjoy their newly found freedom by moving around the city in their precious cars gifted to them by their loving doting daddies because you're just such a princess."

The moment her mentioned my dad, I saw red. I wanted so bad to slap this smug ass right on his pretty little face but I refrained because my dad always taught me to take the higher path.

He continued, "Really, I don't know how girls like you even get their license with such driving skills or should I say, the lack thereof. Or do you just don't have any respect whatsoever for others, people who have serious jobs and serious lives devoted to anything other than "having fun"." He made little air quotation marks while he finished his little speech.

Screw the high road.

"Listen mister!" I enunciated every syllable very carefully; he stopped and looked at me.

"I don't care what you've done in your life or who screwed you up so bad that you go around judging every person you meet on the street but you have no right to say anything to me. This" I motioned to the wreck that was my scooter and the bumper of his car," was an accident. An accident. A mistake. One that I am very VERY sorry for. Sorry for ruining your day and wasting your precious time. Unlike you, I can accept my faults and work on them." I pulled out a sheet of paper from my notebook, scribbled my name and number on it and pushed it into his hand. "Here, my name and number. Send me the bill." I started to pick up my stuff that had fallen onto the floor because of the collision and put it back in my bag.

"And as far as my father is concerned, he's dead. Not everyone gets whatever they want on a silver platter. Some of us have to actually earn it."

I started the engine, jumped onto the scooter that was thankfully still running and rushed away, hoping to never meet that arrogant bastard again.

* * *

(Flashback)

"Hey, it's all going to be okay. I'll win them over with my good looks and impeccable charm and amazing cooking and then we'll get married and live happily ever after." He said while taking me into his arms. He knew how tense I had been about this day, about finally telling my aunt and uncle about us.

"Jenna will probably be cool with it. She trusts me and my choice. She knows if not THE best, I would atleast settle for second best. Alaric is the one I'm a little concerned about. He's a Southerner and he knows how to use a gun." I said, trying to diffuse the tension with my not funny at all humor.

"Second best!" Damon shouted. "Second best! I detest that value judgment madam and if you think that you are going to get any sex from this able bodied white male, then you have clearly lost your mind." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted slightly. All the mock shouting was for me, I knew it. I loved this amongst the many other things about him, he would always try and make me smile and laugh even if he himself was as nervous inside as I was inside and outside. So I went towards him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He turned his face just in time and I ended up kissing him on the lips. Classic Damon. I laughed. He hugged me again.

As he turned his attention back to the delicious smell coming from the cream sauce that we making for the pasta, I smiled.

It was all going to be okay.

* * *

(Present Day)

Damon's POV

I couldn't believe this girl. Although she looked like a woman, a very beautiful woman… Ahem, back to the main subject. Yes. Wrecked car. I racked my brain trying to remember where I had seen this girl before. I had a very good memory and not being able to place this woman was eating me alive. Anyway, I tried to work it out by shouting at her, something I always did and hated myself for. Whenever I was tense I shouted or at those rare occasions, I blasted out onto my close friends. I know it wasn't fair but hey, we all have our crosses to bear. If I tolerate Caroline's childish love for the Twilight series and Mason's weird foot fetish that he confessed under a drunken haze, they could handle my..well.. "episodes".

I noticed how her eyes dilated a little when I said something about rich daddies letting their daughters live like queens of whoseville not caring about whoever they stomped over in the process, but she controlled herself and quickly covered it up with ..wait..rage? Why was she so mad at me. I was making an excellent point about today's children, I should be mad at her for not looking where she was going.

But as she started speaking, I was enchanted, for the lack of a more apt word. I hung onto every single word she said. She was beautiful, even when she was mad, even when she was talking to me like she'd kill me with her very eyes, she was B-E-A-Utiful. She finished her little speech and threw a piece of paper at me and started gathering her things. I bent down to pick it up and saw, written in a neat scribble-Elena, followed by her number. It was the most beautiful scribble I've even seen in my life.

Shut up Damon. How can a scribble ever be beautiful? I was clearly losing my mind. This collision seemed to have rendered my cognitive thinking useless.

I looked at her when I heard the word 'dead'; everything around me stopped. Dead? Her father was dead? She must have been 22, 23 at most and she'd lost her father. I felt so stupid in that moment but before I could say anything or even apologise, she hopped onto her scooter and vanished into the traffic.

30 minutes later.

"I am an ass" I said as I walked into my favorite bar where I was supposed to meet Caroline for our weekly 'friend-meet' as she oh so dearly called it. She made it compulsory to attend and frankly I wasn't up for another confrontation with her after my initial outburst of 2005 that she keeps reminding me of.

Caroline was the first one to reply," Tell me something I don't already know schmuck. You're late. I've been waiting here for you for the past thirty minutes."

Before she could go on and on about whatever TV series she had to put on recording for me, I said, "I got in an accident. Sorry."

"Oh. Are you fine? Are you hurt?"

"Yeah yeah. Body of steel baby, but it's nice to know that you care." I replied.

"I just hope you didn't kill anyone." She said nonchalantly as she sipped on her cocktail.

"Nope. Everyone's okay. But I did say something awful, unintentionally to some E-le-na."

She froze. "Elena? Are you sure? What did you say? Tell me everything."

In the entire time that I have known Caroline, I have never seen her freeze like she just did. I automatically sense that something is up but by the look she's giving me, I thought it better to tell her the story before inquiring about her sudden interest in who I bang, literally.

Just as I finished telling her about how coldly the Elena girl stormed off, Caroline gave me a sad look and I understood that it had something to do with the accident I had a couple of months ago.

"Was there an Elena in my past?" I asked her.

Her expression quickly changed to her 'I'm going to make something up but no one will find out because I'm going to make it very very believeable' but since I've known her since we were practically kids I could tell and know not to question her about it.

"Yeah. It's really not that important anyway. She was just a girl." She said and we made our way to our regular booth for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again :)**

**I didn't like the length of the first two chapters so I coupled them together. This is one thing I always hated as a reader-short chapters. So I'll try not disappointing you guys if anyone is actually reading at all. **

**Review, please. **

**Much love.**

**More lust. **

**:)**

* * *

(Present day)

Elena's POV

I re-read one diary entry from last year. I can't even relate to who I used to be then. The happy girl lost hopelessly in love. Who am I now? Who is this person hell bent on taking her life by hook or crook?

It read-

_There's this guy, whom I've known for quite some time now. But all this time, while I've been __trying__ to get some attention from him, he never notices. Never has he considered me to be something more than just invisible for him._

_And now, I'm tired._

_I'm feeling as insignificant as humanly possible._

_It's hurting and frustrating to never be heard._

_I mean, WHY doesn't he hear me screaming 'I love you' when I tell him how great he is? WHY?_

_I finally understand why some people are scared of love. They should be, because first love is the most beautiful feeling you'll ever feel, you'll feel complete and satisfied. But, as soon as you turn your back on life and lose yourself in the unworldly fantasies you have, it'll creep up on you and destroy you._

_It'll butcher you down to your very core, and leave you shattered, bruised and battered. In a state of complete shock, that you wont even know how or when it happened._

_Love will take little pieces of you away, so quietly, that you wont even realize until you've completely lost yourself._

_Love makes you feel sick and miserable._

_So, don't fall in. It'll tear you down and burn away the little pieces left of you._

_Someone great once told me-"keep your eyes open, they are way TOO many sexy men out there to wait"..._

_*sigh*_

_I know, life is too short to be wasted on one guy, the one guy who doesn't even realize that there are people waiting for him, lining up to be noticed. But, he's cute and smart. He is an awesome drummer and his passion for music makes me want to come alive. He's a copywriter in my firm and he's brilliant._

_I'm in love. _

_L.O.V.E._

Things change so drastically over one year, so much that people change with it. But, he hasn't. He's still the business prodigy he was. He's still the only one who ever touched my heart and didn't try to break it.

So, he is exactly the person I'm scared of. The person I'm scared of ruining. And I don't want to ruin anyone else.

Every morning when I wake up, or should I say-arise out of my unconsciousness, I fight with the same feeling of whether I should continue lying here or move out and face the world.

Something that no one realizes is how much pain I really am in.

My dark miserable life dawns onto me when I see his cheerful self-full of life. It's a bold comparison, sort of a complete opposite for my pathetic-ness. As I run away from all my past, he faces things head on.

Maybe that's the main reason why I can't seem to get him out of my head. Maybe, it's my stupid brain that makes me think of him as my angel, as my guardian. Maybe it's just the way things have been for me in my life-I love the things I can't have, and the things that I've been dealt with are far less than what I deserve.

The only problem is that I've forgotten anything and everything about him. With that accident a few months ago, I lost all my memories of the last five years. The only thing I remembered was getting up in the morning to go for my internship and fretting over being late. Who is this guy? Where is he now? Why hasn't he tried to reach me? Doesn't he love me anymore?

* * *

(Flashback)

"No Damon. That's not how it goes. You can't just walk away after one argument. This is a marriage, you stay and fight. "

"No Elena, you don't understand. I can't stay right now. I need to go. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Damon. No. You fight if you think it's worth it. If for you, this marriage is worth it, if… I'm worth it."

I took my time with those last three words, pushing myself to get them out of my system since I knew it was now or never. I wouldn't ever be able to ask him that and he wouldn't tell me honestly.

"Elena, you're getting it all wrong. It's not like that. Ofcourse I care. I just can't stay right now. I need to leave. Or I'll say things that I'll regret later. Please try and understand."

"Damon", I whispered. I was crying now. Perfect. Now I won't be able to say anything important. But I tried nevertheless.

"Do you love me?"

He stopped dead in his track, rushed back to me and took my face in his hands.

"Ofcourse I love you Elena. You're my love, you're my life. You're everything for me. "

The emotion in his eyes made me break down in his arms, and we dropped to the floor the same way.

"I love you too. I love you so much. I don't like it when we fight. Please don't fight me anymore. Please."

"Elena. Shhh.. It's okay. Couples fight. That's what they do. They fight and then they make up. Or in our case, I would like to make out and then have amazing make up sex."

I laughed. I knew he'd say something like this.

I looked up and then we kissed. His previous need to drown himself in alcohol and my previous need to shout all forgotten and replaced by this new need of getting as close as possible to each other. I love how most of our fights either end with hot make out sessions or one of us stomping out before the other is able to initiate the make out. I like it when it ends in the former.

* * *

Damon's POV

(Present day)

I dreamt about her last night. The same brown hair walking ahead of me, the light sway of her hips, the converse she was wearing and the hands moving about as she animatedly discussed something assuming I was listening. I miss her. Whoever she was, Caroline would only tell me little snippets about her but I've managed to dream up the rest of them. She's beautiful. Not the fashion magazine kind but the kind that stays. When you look at her, you lose yourself in her beauty. Not that I remember her face, but the vision of her, that's beautiful.

As I wake up and prepare for the day, I somehow manage to think of that girl I bumped into.

Elise, Elaine.. Elena.

I say her name to myself a few times and feel like I'm used to it. The name flows over my tongue.

Whatever you say, I'll have to call this snappy young woman.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the inconsistencies, I just noticed that I didn't really pay attention to time in the first two chapters. So to set the record straight, Elena is now 25 and Damon is 28. They are both into advertising but have taken some time off because of personal reasons. Reasons that shall be divulged later. Cue evil laughter**

* * *

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

_We were sitting along the side of a lake, the sky was a gorgeous shade of purple, and the waters were reflecting the depth of my emotion, it was charismatic, to be there with her, with no concern of what was happening in the world, except for the both of us._

_And then, I was filled with the urge to take her into my arms, to hug her tight, and never let go, to never have to be away from her. I pulled her into my arms, tight, letting her feel the warmth and passion in me, the elevation of my love for her, the feelings I had for her. I was trying to communicate just how much I wanted her through this simple seemingly platonic gesture._

_I kissed her cheek, her earlobe and her eyes. Both of us were lost in the pure bliss of the moment._

_I know, by the way she sighed, that she loved me, and wanted us to be together, the way she kept repeating my name as though she were chanting some prayer to her god, me._

_So I hugged her again, pressing her into me trying to get as close to her as possible, and breathed into her ear, she chuckled and said, "That tickles!"_

_"I know" I smirked and kissed her temple and made my way down to her mouth. I could sense the confusion she felt, as she said, "Damon?" It sounded like a question. That was when I closed my mouth over hers, kissing her in the most passionate way anyone had ever done._

_She hesitated at first but then she gave in._

_The perfect synchrony of our lips moving in unison echoed the depth of our love, the power and passion of it._

_She parted her lips, and breathed into mine, her scent clean and wonderful, a brilliant concoction of all that is pure and magical in the world, her cool breath washing over me, saturating every cell in my body with love. I was breathing down her neck, kissing her everywhere, the corner of her lips, her ear, her jaw line… Everywhere but not her lips, for I knew I won't be able to stop myself if I did._

_When I couldn't take it anymore, I found her lips again, and kissed them gently, slowly, licking her lower lip, the velvet texture of her, the sensitive curve in them. She seemed to like it, as she arched her lower jaw to mine, tying her hands into my hair. I caressed her neck, pressing her to me. She pulled away then, only to kiss my earlobe, she whispered into my ear," You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment. I love you so much."_

_There was sudden electricity between us, and she took my lips again, I kissed her with all the love in me, everything that made me what I was, what I've been, what I'll always be. She sighed a husky sensuous moan. I lost it. I grabbed her, hard but yet caressingly, not wanting to hurt her in any way, probed the insides of her cheek, with my tongue. Tasting her, the sweetness in her, she surrendered to me, and her hands went limp on my chest. This was much more just a kiss. I tried to stop for her sake, but the sudden desire and pleasure I was getting from this was uncontrollable, it was too much. Too good to stop._

_Occasionally, we would come up for air, but then, we'd resume kissing each other, here and there._

_The feeling of it was more than anything I had ever felt in my entire life._

_If I'd been 'alive' for the last years of my human existence, then it was nothing compared to how I felt now. I was kissing her body tenderly, holding her like she were fragile china that would break with the slightest roughness, whispering soft soothing words that relaxed her, telling her that I would never do anything to hurt her, telling her that I would love her forever._

I woke up to the angry shrill of my phone vibrating on my side table. Dang it! I knew it was too good to be true.

"What?" I spat into my phone.

"Hey man. What happened? Woke up on the wrong side of the bed again?" The other line said.

"Oh. Hey Mason. Listen can I call you back. I didn't sleep well last night, I'm trying to catch up now."

He snickered. "Rough night, eh? Call me later. Yeah. Ummm... You do that. Bye"

And he cut the phone.

What did he mean by that? Am I always supposed to have female company with me? Can't a decent man get a good night's sleep without having to exhaust himself physically (if you know what I mean). Seriously. My friends were jerks. I need new ones. *sigh*

As much as I tried to fall asleep and restart the dream, I couldn't. My asshole brain wouldn't let me. So I decided it was time to get up. Onto more important subjects, why did I dream about that girl from the accident? Not that she wasn't hot, hotter when she was mad, but why?

Weiiiird.

* * *

**Elena POV**

**(Present Day)**

_He was everywhere, the heat of him surrounding my every sense, his warm breath blocking every coherent thought of my brain. I loved him, that I knew, but this side of him was new. These sudden revelations of the deep corners of our love were enriching. I was discovering feelings in corner of my heart that I never even knew about. My love for him was increasing with every touch, every gently brush of his lips onto mine. Before I could comprehend anything else, he locked his lips onto mine, my breath leaving me gasping for breath and moaning his name. The feeling of his tongue inside me, tasting me, the touch of his tongue with mine, was sweet. How long had I waited for this moment, waited for us to be together. But it all seemed worth it now._

_I ached to tell him that I loved him with all my heart and soul; I wanted to love him, to let him love me. To spend the rest of my life, locked in his arms, in the loving embrace we were in at this moment, to never leave him._

_And suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore, the wild passion in our kiss was killing the shy control in me, and I knotted my hands into his hair, pushing myself deeper into him. It was then that I think he too, lost control, as I parted my lips, the rhythm in which my lips moved against his, our tongues, our hearts, our souls, everything was one, in that moment we were one._

What the heck? Why was dreaming about that asshat! Wasn't ruining my day enough that he also ruin my night?

Weiiiird.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! I'm back. Sorry about the wait. **

**Review please :) Even if you think that this story is shit. **

* * *

**Elena's POV**

**(Present Day)**

I woke up with a start. My hair were matted onto my face and my nightwear was sweaty. My red bloodshot like when I had been crying. I looked to my right, and it said 11th October, the day that my parents died. My mom who had been suffering for over three years before that breathed her last on this very day and my dad couldn't come ever come back from that. He died an hour after she did. I love you were their last words.

I've always thought of the love of my life to be like theirs, that we'd live together for our whole lives, have kids, adore them, bring them up together, fight like crazy but then make up right after that and then eventually die together. No matter when. But now all I feel is a void, like there used to be something there and now it isn't there anymore. I don't remember much about him, but I've seen some documents that my friends and family forgot about, the rest I know they got rid of after the accident but some papers I had seen in my personal files where I had signed as "Mrs Elena Salvatore". It had a nice ring to it but I couldn't remember anything after that. I had even looked it up but the number of 'Salvatores' in New York today were overwhelming. So I stopped. Soon after that Caroline found out that I had been trying to remember and she ripped me a new one.

Today she found me going to my old phone records for any clue I could find about my husband.

"You know what the doctor said..."

_Yappity yappity yap._

"You can't keep doing this to yourself…"

_It's not healthy. Blah blah blah. _

"I don't want to go through that again…"

_It was mighty hard for you. I'm sure. Yeah yeah._

"I can't keep telling both of you to stop..It was awful."

Wait. Both of us? Who? She had to tell me.

"Who? Do you still talk to him? Where is he? Is he happy? Does he remember me? Does he miss me?"

She hesitated, giving me her lying-but-you-can't-tell-look, the look that I had mastered over time. She finally said, "No. I meant Jeremy. He keeps talking to me about telling you but I say no. It'll happen when it has to happen. Give your mind time to heal its wounds and then give you back your memories, if they have to come they will."

"Fine! Caroline. I won't do it again."

I love Caroline. I do, with all my heart. But at times she becomes too overbearing for a friend. She thinks she's responsible for all of us as well and then starts dictating our emotional choices. I remember back in high school, she was officially incharge of who I used to date, what I wore and how I reacted.

But I had to find out who he was. I couldn't wait for it to come back to me itself anymore. Who knows how long it would take. With Amnesia you never know, even the doctor said so. I didn't care if I went mad I had to know him and find out if he remembered anything. We were married for Christ's sake! It's not just a serious relationship that I'd forgotten, I had forgotten my husband. Not something to just let slip.

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

I woke up feeling pretty good about the day but as soon as I checked the date, a feeling of foreboding came onto me. It was an important day, I just didn't know why. I called Caroline to ask her if it was her birthday but she didn't reply. So I decided to call Stefan my brother, the apple of my father's eye and the future owner of the Salvatore and Co., the law form that my great-great-great-grandfather had started and was now in the hands of my father-a very successful lawyer of our age and Stefan the golden boy would soon follow in his footsteps. I unfortunately for my dad had a little mind of my own and went into advertising to follow my own dreams and make people's lives easier. I earned a good enough amount but not my job wasn't "honourable" enough for the Salvatore name according to my dad so he came to me once in every six months to get me to join the family firm and leave me "whimsical" hobby aside.

11th October. Why was this day so important? And not in a happy way, I was feeling sad as though someone important had died today. Who was it? No one in my family, none of my friends. Maybe someone in 'her' family? My wife, the love of my life (so I'm told), did someone die in her family? I had no clue and I had no way of finding out.

This is worst part about having Amnesia. Apart from all those moments when I missed her, I hated these moments when I would remember something or rather feel something but not know why or how it was related to my life. I would sense that something used to be important to me but I had no way of figuring out why or when or where.

Taking Caroline's advice for the first time..wait..why did it feel like second, anyway.. I pushed that feeling onto a simmer to the back of my brain and picked up the newspaper. Business, rape, destruction, editorial, politics, obituaries, sports, I flipped through the pages with no particular interest in anything when suddenly an idea come to me.

Obituaries.

_Jackpot!_

I read through the names and the messages people had written for their long gone loved ones when the name Gilbert appeared.

_Huh. Where have I heard that name before? I moved on to the message_

**Miranda and Grayson Gilbert.**

**A love so strong that it kept them together in life and in death.**

**We love you and miss you with every breath. **

**-Elena and Jeremy.**

It was simple and sweet. I sighed. A love that keeps you with the one you love in life and in death, so touching. But the name seemed oddly familiar.

Oh! Elena Gilbert. I knew her! I knew one Elena Gilbert even though she hated me, probably or had even forgotten about me, maybe she didn't even think about me, maybe she couldn't keep me out of her mind, maybe she's sitting in her comfy chair thinking about me right now, all I have to do is call her and find out, I even had her number. And then like a cold shower, I thought of someone else with her; a husband who loves her and adores her sitting with her on the porch sipping on their coffee and talking about just how much they love each other.

_Yuck!_

I found her name and number on the side table where I had left it late at night after I had very obsessively thought about her for an hour. I felt like a stalker, like a perverted compulsive vampire who follows his victims and thinks about them thinking about him.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed her number.

One ring

Two rings

Three rings

"Hello?" Some guy answered. Shit. My third hypothesis was coming out to be true. I must really be psychic.

"Heyyy.. Is this Elena Gilbert's number?" I asked, a total loss at words. What do you ask when you call a girl to sort of ask her out and her husband/boyfriend/whatever answers?

"Umm…yeah. She's right here. But who is this?" He asked.

_Shit. I thought he wouldn't get to that. Say something Damon. You're a creative man! Say something!_

"Umm… I'd rather talk to her directly. I'm from her office."

_Wow Damon. You should think about joining copy instead of planning. That was really good quick thinking._

"Hey Elena, there's something from your office. "

"Probably someone calling to give their condolences, Jer. Nothing important, I have the week off, they know that. "

_I heard them talking in the background They should really be a little more careful about holding the receiver down so that the person on the other side doesn't hear what they're talking about. But wait a second, Condolences? Why. Oh shit. This IS the Elena Gilbert whose parents had died today. Crap!_

"If you can't do it, should I? It's fine. You don't need to push yourself given the circumstances…" He stopped talking delivering a message that only they were supposed to know.

"No no. I have to do it someday. Hand it over. "

"Hello. This is Elena." She finally said on the receiver.

"Hey Elena, this is Damon Salvatore from the…Umm.. the services department. I was wondering if I could speak to you about something?"

_She seemed to buy it. Phew! Quick save Damon. You are on fiiiire. _

"Umm… Did you say Salvatore? Today isn't really a good day. Can we meet tomorrow at the little café next to our office building? Say 10-ish."

"Fine. See you then."

And she disconnected the call.

I was ecstatic the entire day. So happy that I was doing my happy dance all over the house. She was going to meet me tomorrow! Na na na na na na! Na na na na na na!

Wait. Where was I supposed to meet her again? What café? What office? Shit.

I checked the obituary again. I found her address somehow but knowing where she worked was going to be an issue. I needed a drink so I headed to my favorite bar-The Grill. Alone for the first time after the accident, I decided not to tell Caroline or Stefan about my whereabouts since I was sick of their constant shrink questions.

**Elena's POV**

**(Present day, following her conversation with Caroline)**

As soon as Caroline left my room to get some coffee for me and to discuss "How is Elena feeling today" with my brother, I fell back into the covers. I didn't want to get up today. I wanted to push off going to meet them for as late as I could. I missed them, every time I saw Jeremy or Aunt Jenna or how she had to adjust with two teenagers without any parental guidance into her college life, I felt sad. How one drastic change had derailed everyone's life.

Knowing that I had to get out of bed or Caroline would literally pull me out, I went downstairs to greet my brother.

"Hey Jer. How are you today?"

"I'm fine as long as we're fine Lena. How are you? Any headaches? Caroline told me what you did."

Before I could start defending myself and explaining to him why I needed to find my Salvatore, he continued.

"I know why you want to find him. I'm not Caroline. I won't push you. All I want to say is that don't push your body and mind too much. I don't want to see you having a nervous breakdown."

I sighed and went to him to give him a hug.

"You're already a pain in the ass." He finished and stuck out his tongue and ran away from me.

I hit him on his arm for that comment and ran after him. We circled the dining table a few times before falling over onto the couch laughing and panting.

He hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

I heard the distant buzzing of my phone, Jer went ahead and answered.

"Hey Elena, there's something from your office. "

"Probably someone calling to give their condolences, Jer. Nothing important, I have the week off, they know that. "

Just a normal conversation Elena, you can get through this. It's just someone from your office who wants to meet you. Some Salvatore. What? Salvatore as in possibly the mister she married Salvatore? Ofcourse she could meet him. Tomorrow morning at 10. Fine.

She was proud of herself. One demon after the other. First facing her parent's death with the dignity she had shown today, not even one breakdown and then her forgotten past. One step at a time. One by one.

**(Later that day)**

As she sat down into an empty booth at some bar called The Grill, Elena thought about her day. Her morning had been fine but the visit to the cemetery had taken whatever she had in her. Jeremy and she went there together with her mother's favorite white roses but she insisted on staying on a little longer. That was when it all hit her. Her parents whom she had lost and the husband she couldn't seem to remember. She thought of how different things would have been if he'd been here with her today. Would he have held her hand? Would he have kissed her until she stopped crying? Would he hold her until her trembles faded away? She felt lost and frustrated. Her life seemed pointless. Everything she did seemed futile.

After downing the first few shots of tequila she finally got a hold on her emotions. She could not break down in a public place. She had to have enough energy to go back home and then cry herself to sleep, if it came at all.

She took another shot and spotted a man sitting at the bar in his leather jacket. An awfully familiar leather jacket. Black hair that she could visualize running her hair through, pale skin that she could imagine holding to her body, this man seemed very very recognizable.

Maybe it was the alcohol that gave her the extra courage, she sauntered up to the bar and said "Hi"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello friends :)**

**First of all-****Thankyou marymary567, you've made me really really happy! And to all the others who have followed my story, please review if you feel like it. Just a little hi will also do. :)**

**Much Love.**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

**(Flashback)**

"_Hi"_

"_You must be Elena. I'm Damon. Stefan's brother."_

"_He didn't tell me he had a brother."_

"_Well... Stefan's not one to brag."_

_I took a big breath and then said, "Hi, Damon, Stefan's brother." _

_Registering his name in my mind, it felt good. The name had a nice feeling to it plus he wasn't exactly hard to look at. It was our first date and he was gorgeous. Breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes and pitch dark raven black hair set perfectly against his alabaster white skin, and that smirk! I swear my knees wobbled a little when he smirked and introduced himself. _

"_Hello to you too. Elena-Caroline's friend."_

_I had a good feeling about this guy. Maybe this would go a long way… _

**Elena's POV**

**(Present day)**

He turned and she finally got a good look at his face. Before I could get a word out, two things happened simultaneously. His shocked face came right infront of my 'sexy face' and I started laughing.

_Great, you're going loco now. The death of your parents, the husband that you can't remember and now this guy who seems to be stalking you. You're losing it completely!_

He quickly controlled his emotions and put on the best response to my expression, his 'sexy face' which wasn't bad (I must tell you, the guy could do quite a number on you if you just saw his face)

"Eleeena Gilbert. Hello again." He said.

I blushed. Not because this sexy God just looked at me like a prospective sexual partner but because of the way my name smoothly rolled off of his tongue, like he was sensuously caressing my name.

_How would his body feel against mine. Gaaaaah!_

"Hello…Umm?" I replied, well asked since I didn't know his name and he seemed to have mine memorized.

_His voice also seemed familiar. Where had I heard that voice before? Huh._

Breaking me out of my reverie he promptly filled in the blanks, "Damon. I'm Damon."

_Damon Damon Damon. Where had I heard that name before? Maybe the alcohol had rendered my memory even weaker than it had gotten because of the accident. _

"Ofcourse it would be you. Just what I needed." I gulped back another shot and answered sarcastically.

"I don't know about what you need but I sure as hell knowhow to give you what you want, E-Lena."

"Really? You know what I want? Tell me, oh all-knowing-all-seeing-oracle. What is it that I want?"

"Me."

He gave me a dangerous look, a shiver ran down my spine and I inched closer to him in need of some of the body heat that he seemed to be exuding.

"You. Want. Me."

" I can feel it. And you can too." He finished. Pointing straight toward my heart and touching my sternum lightly.

Another shiver. Another inch.

_Control yourself woman. It's just a random guy. You hate him. _

I looked down to where his finger was touching me, and I looked up. Our faces were inches apart, too close infact, our breaths mingling together and his forehead almost touching mine. A sense of dejavu followed...

* * *

"_I love you Elena and I can't live without you. From the first time I saw you at that bar till today; I have loved and adored you with every breath and every step that I have taken. Marry me? Be mine forever? Give me the ultimate gift of letting me belong to you?" He was down on one knee holding a ring in his right hand. _

_I pulled him flush against my body after letting him put the ring onto my ring finger and said, "Damon, Oh God. YES! *kiss* you *kiss* frustratingly*kiss* stubborn *kiss* man! Yes! A thousand times yes. Every time you ask me *kiss* whenever*kiss* wherever. YES!" _

_I took his right hand and put it on my chest, exactly above my heart. _

"_You feel that? That's you. That's all you. You make it beat, Damon. I love you. I love you so much." I said and started crying. Happy tears._

_I heard people clapping and cheering in the background but all I could really see was him-the love of my life, forever and always smiling happily at me with a little moisture in his eyes as well, lips swollen because of all the kissing. MY Damon, mine forever._

* * *

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

How often to angels fall down onto the Earth? Never. Except they do and one was standing right infront of me. How had I not seen her before when I met her on the road under a completely different set of circumstances ? This goddess with the most perfect body I had ever seen in my life was standing right before my eyes. A little tipsy, but hey! Who was I to judge, I too had had my fair share of Scotch before she entered the pub. She seemed sad, and she had been crying; I could see that in her eyes. All the emotion that she was trying to hide from her face was pouring out of her eyes, I could see that too.

She was mocking me, teasing me, asking me questions that I could give very dirty practical demonstrations for.

What did she want? Oh honey. I could see it right in her eyes. She wanted, no…she deserved a man who would love her with all his heart, body and soul. A love that would consume her, she was passionate. Oh yes, it was all in her eyes. Also a little dangerous by the way she pouted her lips and her body language. But my scumbag brain had to give her the corniest reply ever.

As if individuals of their own thinking, my hands fueled by my body are primal reactions inched closer to her heart and touched her sternum.

She looked down at my finger; it was directly above her heart which was beating quite frantically if you ask me. Was it because of me? Wow. I didn't think I still had it in me.

She looked up, her gorgeous brown eyes piercing into my blue ones and I lost myself in them. It felt like I had been here before, those same brown eyes haunted me and I felt like losing myself in them again...

* * *

"_Blue is my favorite color but let's try without any clothes", I murmured the words against her throat, seconds before she felt the gentle nip of my teeth, the lap of my tongue and the sucking on the soft skin of her neck. She knew what I had just done. I had put a passion mark there, branding her as mine. If there ever was a man designed to make her a mother by giving her a baby, to love her and cherish her forever, to hold her when she cried, to be her shoulder to cry on, to be her lap to cuddle on, to be her lover, her friend, her everything, I was that man. Our eyes were locked once more. The heated desire in the gaze looking back at her made her heart beat that much faster in her chest, I could feel it. And when I reached out and trailed my fingers from the top of her shoulders down to the twin peaks of her breasts, she swallowed deeply, trying not to detonate from my touch alone. My touch was smooth and slow, as if I was conducting a scientific experiment on her body, everything had to be perfect. When I reached her nipples, I took my fingertips and gently caressed each hardened bud with a skill and a purpose that shot intense hunger through her. She screamed, "Damon!"_

* * *

**Elena's POV**

**(Present Day)**

When I snapped back to reality his hand was now firmly placed against my heart and mine was over his hand. What just happened? Why did that vision feel like it had actually happened before? I left his hand at once and he took it back, picked up his glass and finished his drink. He left right after that, probably more confused than me. I took a cab a couple of minutes later when I thought I had regained some control over my head and headed home, baffled out of my mind.

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

Why was I day dreaming about Elena? I snatched my hand at the same time as she left mine. Why was she looking so confused? Did she see something? I gulped down the remaining scotch, not caring if it burned its way down, threw a couple of bills on the table and promptly left the bar, baffled out of my mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hellooooo dearies :)**

**The breakfast scene will come in the next chapter. This one is sort of a filler. Hope you like it.**

**Reviews are love. Please leave me some. :)**

* * *

**Elena's POV**

**(The next day, really early in the morning)**

The hardest part about losing your memory is finding yourself again. Were you a changed person? Did you still love the way you used to? Did you discover something new in the period of time that you've forgotten? Did someone new enter your life? Did you lose someone special? Who are you now? This reconstruction of one's identity is the hardest part about losing yourself.

I found another journal entry stuck in one of my old notebooks.

_I know I love him, and he loves me too. I don't know anymore. The man who helped me get here is nowhere to be found and the man I have been obsessed with is standing right infront of me with arms wide open. He is who I wanted, who I needed, all I used to think about, the one I could never have. But getting to him has been a journey for me. And while he was gone, I made new memories with someone else. I can't forget the moments I shared with him when Elijah is standing right infront of me. _

_I need Elijah in my life but now when I think about the man who brought me here without thinking about himself, putting my needs and my desires before his, the strong and brave soul who brought me here knowing that it hurt him more than death itself, I can't let him go. I need him._

_When Elijah looked at the indecision on my face, he asked in the to-die-for British accent that I loved so much, "It's him, isn't it. I truly have lost my chance, lost you, haven't I?"_

"_Sorry", I said. Then… I ran._

_I shouted out for him. The man I love, the man I was in love with, the man who I'd do anything for, the man who brought me to Elijah and then left me to decide, the man who would give up anything for mine, the man who fought for me, with me, against me…all for me. I shouted out his name, hoping that I didn't take too long, hoping for that one last chance to tell him how sorry I was for not realizing what was in my heart earlier, hoping he'd take me back. _

_I ran and ran, asked random strangers but no one seemed to have seen him. I was losing hope, I was losing my mind. Please please let him be here, please give me one more chance, please, just please._

_I stopped, my knees shaking, my lungs wheezing, my eyes teary and my lips quivering. I put a hand on my chest feeling my heart beating like the wings of a helicopter at top speed, that is what he did to me. Whenever I was near him, whenever I was thinking about him, whenever we were together, my heart beat in the same frantic way. It was perfect, everything was perfectly well when we were together. Why hadn't I seen that before!?_

_As I turned back, making my way out of the airport and towards the beach, I saw him. All lost hope came rushing back and my heart took off again._

_He was looking away from me, into the horizon. I went to him and tapped on his shoulder. He sighed and turned back, his face a reflection of his heart, broken and lost, tears running down his face. I cupped his face with my hands and rubbed off the remaining moisture. _

"_I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner, I love you. I love you. I'll love you forever if you'll let me."_

_I kissed him, once…twice…thrice. He smiled and crushed me to him. _

_I was home. _

I was crying, I don't know when it started but I realized that this was yet another dam waiting to burst off when the first drop of moisture fell onto the weathered piece of paper I was holding.

Who is this man? Elijah, I remembered from my early days at the agency… But my love, my husband, my everything…who is he?

Why hadn't he come to find me yet?

* * *

**Damon's POV**

**(Later that night)**

As soon as I got back home I set out looking for anything that would explain why I was having so many Elena-oriented thoughts as though I was an addict and Elena my drug. I looked through photo albums but someone very carefully (I suspected Caroline) had taken out everything from the past five years except for some seemingly usual photo excursions I had gone out for. Nothing about my wedding, nothing about my wife and photos whatsoever that would give me any idea about any important activity I had done in whatever time I had forgotten about. Frustrated I picked up my worn out copy of Call of the Wild after almost an hour of searching, I found one photograph tucked away near in chapter 6 and a line had been marked there in ink, "Love, genuine passionate love, was his for the first time."

The photograph was me, with a girl, with ling chestnut hair flowing like an aura around her face which was hidden, It was one of those in the moment photographs where I had picked her up and her knees were bent and she was looking down at me, and I was looking up at her. I was happy, genuinely happy. Not the fake smile that I had gotten used to for other people who heard about my sad story and asked stupid questions with answers they didn't really want to hear. I was truly, from the bottom of my heart happy.

There could be a million girls in the world with those hair but they somehow reminded me of the mystical feisty girl I had been fixated on.

Elena.

Who are you? And why do I think like we have something?

I have to find out, but first I had to find out where she worked if I wanted to see her for breakfast. Think Damon think. You're a smart man, think hard.

Yes. Google-God of the internet came to my rescue.

I quickly typed in Elena Gilbert and pressed the enter key. There were so many Gaaaah! The fifth profile looked somewhat like her, long chestnut hair, brown doe eyes, sweet heart shaped face and pouty lips.

Elena Gilbert, assistant copywriter, mAdAds.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!? She's in my office? MY office? Junior Copywriter? How can I not remember her?

Fuck my life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Elena's POV**

**(Present Day)**

I woke up a bright sunny day. I could see dust particles shine in all their intensity under the sharp rays of the sun. They moved away when I tried to touch them and shone off in beautiful hues. It was a nice day, I had slept well the last night dreaming about my life before graduating from college. It was happy and so not complicated, especially because none of the stupid forget-the-one-you're-not-supposed-to-forget thing had happened then.

The feeling was so amazing that I fell back into the covers and stretched, it felt good. Like something special was going to happen today. After a really really long time, I was feeling…..hopeful. It hadn't felt like this in a long time and I welcomed it. I was smiling, naturally; not the forced one I had stuck onto my face for Jeremy and Caroline who were hell bent on making me feel as normal as ever.

I got up, folded the sheets, put on my bunny slippers and hopped down to the kitchen. Jeremy could see it on my face how happy I was and sighed happily and went back to reading the paper. I took out all the ingredients for pancakes and assembled them on the slab when Jer suddenly said

"You're happy today. Is it because of the mysterious phone call you got yesterday?"

"Huh? What phonecall?" I said without looking up at him. Then I remembered.

"Oh shit. That Salvatore person I was supposed to meet. What time is it? Oh shit shit shit!" I ran back upstairs as soon as this piece of information set in.

"Don't worry. It's only 9. You'll make it in plenty of time." Jer shouted from downstairs.

It took me 26 minutes on the clock to get ready. I wore a casual top, jeans and my converse. I picked up a brown jacket from my closet and ran downstairs to get my car keys.

"I was almost out of the door when I remembered something and ran back into the house.

"What about you? What about breakfast? I can make something real quick before I go." I added.

"No no. That's fine. I'll go grab a quick bite with Bonnie. She's been wanting to spend some time together." He replied quickly.

Bonnie? As in MY best friend Bonnie? Why was my little brother hanging out and grabbing bites with MY friend Bonnie like the most normal thing to do?

"Bonnie? Why? Is there something that I'm missing here?"

He looked like he did when he got caught trying to sneak in his high school girlfriend into the house one night when they'd been out drinking.

"Umm..yeah… I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Umm… Actually… Bonnie and I, Me and Bonnie... We got together. You and Caroline fixed most of it up and it happened quite some time ago, it was right after you came back and told me about how serious you guys had gotten and I blurted it out infront of you about how much I liked kissing Bonnie…" he looked back at me and realized that with everything else I had also lost my memories of this guy (most probably my husband) and hence Jeremy and Bonnie's first kiss. "No… I mean, it was accident, no not an accident, I meant...like a spur of the moment kind of thing. I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful…" He was rambling. A trait we both acquired from our father, I knew this trait like the back of my hand, I gestured for him to stop but he was so into his explanatory clarifications that he didn't see me. " I'm supposed to make you take it easy and here I am repeating all that you've forgotten, the next thing you know I might start spilling the other major thing that we're not supposed to tell you and where we decided to put the papers when you found out the first time, oh shit..."He slammed his fist into his mouth and stopped talking.

"You mean, papers for my wedding, right?"

He looked away from me and said, "Yeah. Wedding, right. Papers from your wedding. Exactly."

I knew he was lying. Live with someone all your life and you kind of pick up on their tells. But I decided not to push him on this, perhaps the better choice for both of us.

"This isn't over Jer. We'll talk more when I come back. Tell Bonnie that I want to meet her as well. And Caroline. Everyone should be here."

I grabbed my keys and slammed the door.

How could they hide something so important from me? This is not something that you can NOT tell your older sister and your best friend. On one hand I was extremely happy for Jeremy and Bonnie. I knew both of them since childhood and there were no other two souls better matched for each other than these two. One one hand, I was very disappointed in the amount of trust my friends and family had in me that they decided to keep this from me when it wouldn't really have bothered me or affected me medically, one one I was proud that they hid it so well.

The other part of my brain was trying to remember what else I had forgotten. Yes please, laugh all you want.

Something that I had found out about earlier as well. Hmmm…

I decided not to dwell on it too much and focus on this Salvatore person I was supposed to be meeting. What was his first name again? Aaaagh. Damn you amnesia, you've ruined my memory skills. It was almost 10, and I was almost at the café, to meet the person who knew me but I knew nothing about. What was he going to talk to me about? Why did I agree to meet him anyway?

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

"_I'm sorry I fought with you today. I'm an ass, a jerk, everything I can possibly fuck up I do. I'm so sorry babe, I love you. Where are you? Please forgive me." I was on the phone and I could hear faint sounds coming from my car radio, was I driving?._

"_Damon, it's okay. I forgive you. I love you. I'm driving towards you. Meet me at our place?"_

"_I love you so so much because you're the only person who really understands me, I love you sweetheart, so very much. I'm coming to our place. Almost there."_

"_Damon, I love you too."_

_I feel like I'm moving to look for something. I'm trying to find something inside the dashboard. I look away momentarily.  
A screeching sound._

_And then, everything is silent. No one's on the phone, no one is talking, no sounds from the car._

_It's black. Everything is fucking black and I don't think I'll get out of it anytime soon. _

_I wait. I wait for it to end. Thankfully there is no pain._

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

_The pain is fading in. I'm moving, like I'm floating on water. _

_Pain. My head hurts. There is something tied around my right leg and my left hand is warm. I think someone is holding my hand. The person giving me whatever human contact he/she can is also shaking. There are quiet sobs coming from one corner. Caroline?_

_Nothingness again. I wait. No more pain. _

_Fortunately._

_It's a few seconds later when I hear someone say, "We got you Damon. It's going to be okay."_

_It's someone's voice but not her's. I can't seem to remember her voice but I know that this one is not it. _

"_She's right here. You're all going to be just fine"_

_I think it's Caroline's voice. It sounds like her. No. Care's is a perkier, bubbly tone; this one is somber, serious and calculated. Like this person has chosen the perfect words, the perfect number and the perfect stops and pauses. Something is wrong, I can feel it. I smell blood. _

_I feel like I'm surrounded by people but I KNOW that she's not there. I don't seem to remember who I'm talking about but I know she's missing. _

_Nothing again. _

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I jolted up from the bed.

What the heck was that?! This is a dream I have never had before; from the usual fantasizing about women I seem to have switched to some weird version of Final Destination where it's actually me in the lead role. I don't exactly remember what the fuck happened. I was on the phone, apologizing to someone (probably my wife) I couldn't even remember her voice anymore, and we were going to meet at our place. Am I in some sappy romantic comedy? And then there was an accident. I had an accident, but why were there two sounds? Maybe my dreams are so lifelike that they also have echo. That's just great now isn't it. Then, people saying that SHE right there. WE would be fine. If she's right there why didn't she say something? Nothing was adding up to anything sensible.

I sat up, stretched my muscles and padded off to the kitchen. One of the best parts about having your own place was that you could do anything anywhere in anything. Like this morning when I was making coffee, contemplating telling my doctor about my dream wearing only my black boxers. Technically I was supposed to tell him if I started remembering things from my past, did this count? Was this fiction? It seemed awfully real to me. So, I decided to tell him if it happened in the moment. Nothing to worry about right now.

I glanced over to the table clock, it was only 8:50 which meant I had enough time to get ready and drive over to the café where I was supposed to meet the star of my dreams and the woman who also apparently worked in the same agency as me. Thinking about her, I couldn't help but link the first voice I heard in my dream to her voice.

Nahh, that's just pushing it Damon. Sit there like a good little boy and finish your coffee.

Round forty five minutes later, I was done getting ready and was on my way to meeting E-Lena Gilbert.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! **

**Hope you're still with me. If you have any suggestions about where to take the story or if you just generally want to talk, I'm here.**

**Can someone please tell me if I need a Beta? I don't know what exactly they do. I've read about how awesome they are and how much they help. **

**Review please :)**

**Much Love. **

* * *

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

My dream was currently on the back burner, I was concerned about what I was going to tell Elena about wanting to meet her. Of course she would be baffled to see me given our "history" or should I say "recent history".

First there was the accident when she said that I seemed familiar to me. Then Caroline's little slip when I mentioned the accident and Elena's name. The brown haired girl in my dream who may or may not have been Elena, then Elena herself in the weird lake dream that my body got rather excited about, the feeling I got yesterday when I called her and it coincidentally was Elena's parent's death anniversary, conveniently bumping into her at the bar last night and then that vision or whatever it was that we both had, it was very very weird if you ask me. The cherry on this entire surreal drama that I seemed to starring in was that she worked in the same ad agency that I was in, she was in copy but whatever it's the same company and that I didn't remember her!

_"__She's right here. You're all going to be just fine"_

"_I think I've seen you before."_

_"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment. I love you so much."_

_A love so strong that it kept them together in life and in death._

"_Tell me, oh all-knowing-all-seeing-oracle. What is it that I want?"_

_"__Blue IS my favorite color"_

"_Meet me at our place?"_

_"Love, genuine passionate love, was his for the first time."_

"_I don't care what you've done in your life or who screwed you up so bad that you go around judging every person you meet on the street but you have no right to say anything to me"_

_"That tickles!"_

The world was moving too fast, too fast for me to be able to hold onto it, my sanity was slipping through my fingers and my head was pounding. A whirlpool of all these fragmented memories and the ones I had made after my accident, they were all building up inside my head like a tornado, much too volatile for me to be able to control it.

Someone was shouting 'Elena' over and over again. Shut up. It's all her fault. She's been messing with my brain. Why would someone else be shouting out her name? Who knows her besides me!

Someone was calling me; I could hear 'Damon'.

I went limp and my knees hit the ground. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see clearly the person who was standing right in front of me and didn't realize that it was me who was shouting out her name.

Then everything went black.

**Elena's POV**

**(Present Day)**

I parked my car outside the café and started walking towards the main entrance when someone called my name. I turned around to see who it was when I heard it again. It was coming from inside the café. I rushed inside and saw him. The too beautiful to be true, dark haired, blue eyed, gorgeoooous man kneeling in front of me clutching his forehead like it was a ticking time bomb. The others were crowding around him and wondering what must've happened when I came back to reality and rushed to him.

"Damon", I said.

"Damon! I'm here!" I said again when he didn't reply.

'Oh my God!" I heard some woman gasp as he fell into my arms and lost consciousness. I looked up at the crowd and motioned for two guys to lift him so that I could take him to the hospital.

The owner of the café who knew me from before motioned for me to sit with him in the back seat and she drove us to the hospital. Call me skeptical or whatever but the looks she gave me or rather us, weren't 'I hope this stranger is fine' but more like 'what a poor couple, so sad'. How do I know this? I've been living with the latter ever since my accident.

I looked down at him and really saw him, without all the sexual innuendoes, the smirk, the sexy eye thing that he did to me, his eyes were shut and his face looked peaceful like he didn't have a care in the world. He was beautiful. It saddened me more than it should have, to see him in such a fragile state. I moved a few stray strands of hair that had fallen onto his forehead, and wiped off the few drops of perspiration that had accumulated there. The car jerked a little, and I pulled him harder against my body; his head was now in m lap and the rest of his body curled up on the seat, one of my hands nicely tucked into his larger hand.

The animosity that I felt for him after he behaved rather rudely with me the day we met had been completely washed away because of the alcohol induced vision that both of us had, at the bar last night. We got to the hospital in record time and two orderlies escorted us inside, him on a gurney and me by his side holding his hand.

Being in a hospital again, brought back very depressing feelings of loneliness from the days after the accident. I wanted to run away from there but the man on the gurney next to me and his hand in mine seemed perfect for now, like this was where I was supposed to be, it was like coming home. It felt natural.

Some doctor dressed differently from the orderlies informed me that he was incharge of the ER today and asked me what exactly happened. Obviously I told him the truth, I knew nothing. Months and months of obsessing over Grey's Anatomy had taught me that I was soon going to be asked about my relationship with said 'John Doe' and how I found him and what the hell was I doing with 'Johnny boy' if I was a stranger. I filled out whatever I could, basically made up the rest and put down myself as his wife or else they would've asked me to leave. They took Damon into an examination room and I was left alone in the waiting area.

The doctor that I spoke with earlier came back and told me that we just needed to wait for him to wake up, he assured me that it was just stress and nothing serious. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. And he patted me on the back and let me into his room.

There he was in clean white clothes, not the usual Goth black. And a machine on his right that showed his heartbeat. I ran to his bed and kissed him on the forehead. I took his hand into mine again and put my head down onto the side of the bed; waiting… waiting for him to get up and explain to me what the hell just happened.

**Damon's POV**

**(A couple of hours later)**

I groaned as I woke up with one name on my lips-Elena.

Elena Salvatore.

Everything finally made sense.


	9. Chapter 9

**Two chapters in one day. Woah. Enjoy!**

**Please review.**

**If you're still confused about some stuff, PM me. :)**

**Looking forward to hearing from you guys. **

* * *

**Damon's POV**

**(Present Day)**

I remembered everything. Everything that I seemed to have forgotten because of the accident; I remembered my wife, my smart sweet beautiful loving wife, brown hair, chocolate doe eyes, olive complexion, heart of a tiger, the one who I loved with all my heart. The one that I would give the world for, the one whom I constantly fought with, the one who healed me after Katherine, the one who I would never give up, leave, the one who I would die for, Elena. MY Elena.

Beep beep beep.

Ugh. Somebody shut the damn thing.

I tried moving my legs but my whole body felt sore. My head felt light and my throat felt dry. I realized someone was holding my hand, and there were light snores from the side of my bed.

I remembered feeling out of mind at the café while I waited for her and how I fell onto the ground, I guess I must've lost consciousness because I realized I was now in a hospital. Season after season of Grey's Anatomy that Elena had made me watch with her on countless Saturday nights when I had sex on my mind but she had the 'let's cuddle and watch some sappy romantic series' look on her face, I caved in obviously. The beeping was my heart that had sped up considerably after I saw a mass of brown hair on my bed, next to the right side.

I would recognize that specific color of hair from a million different tints of brown and still tell you that somehow MY Elena was still here holding my hand, sleeping peacefully next to me, probably waiting for me to wake up. She looked so peaceful when she slept. I remembered the mornings I had spent just watching her sleep. Her cheeks would be slightly pink, her lips slightly pouting, her breathing slow and content, her heart beating healthily, gorgeously; just like her.

The memories of our wedding came back. Elena in that beautiful knee length white sundress and the beach wedding Caroline had so sportingly put together in three days. Stefan's initial coincidental meetings with Caroline and the finally the 'walk of shame' Elena and I had caught them doing. Stefan and Caroline & Elena and I going to numerous double dates, Elena and I walking the pier after work, Elena letting out all her frustration in my cabin, the one and only time she let me 'have' her in my cabin, the sly sultry looks in the first phase of our relationship, the lunch 'meetings' we had, trying to pretend that we weren't seeing each other at office parties, carrying a very drunk Elena back to my place after Caroline's birthday party, beating up those assholes who tried to spike her drinks, having the talk with Elena about babies, finally telling her about Katherine and Mark, Jeremy telling me that he would 'ruin' me if I ever hurt Elena, the first-time-fumbly-giggly-teenage-like-sex we had, feeling completely beaten when I delivered her safely to Elijah, Elijah and that entire story, Elena telling me that she loved me and not Elijah, the fights after the wedding and finally the day of the accident, how I was driving like a maniac to get back to her and then the collision. My car with hers, how silly is THAT! I crashed into her car, it was all my fault, Elena and I were not together and the memory loss was all my fault, if I'd been a little more careful we wouldn't have had to waste all the time that we did, we would have had each other, she would have had me with her yesterday.

With all the memories, came the guilt. I wasn't there for her on the hardest day in her left, the night her parents died. Ever since we got together, we had spent that day together, we were inseparable. Sometimes she would just cry, sometimes she would have hot nasty grief sex, sometimes we went to the cemetery to talk to them, sometimes she would gush over memories as she showed me every home movie they had ever made, sometimes she would just look at old photographs and tell me what exactly was happening when each was clicked. She would cry, laugh, smile, giggle, and just let herself grieve with me. I was always with her. And this year I wasn't with her. After the guilt came the anger and self loathing. When I accidently bumped into her scooty the first time we met after the accident, how I had behaved, OH GOD! The things I said.

I tried to sit up and reach for my phone in my jean pocket without disturbing Elena, I needed to call Stefan and tell him about the situation. He needed to be here and Caroline too. Elena would need someone to hold her, she wouldn't let me help after she woke up from this alternate reality we had been living. Should I tell her right now? Would it be healthy? I didn't want to hurt her; if she didn't realize it by herself then it could hurt her. I remember the doctor telling me that pushing my mind would only break it, probably causing permanent amnesia, or killing me altogether. No. I couldn't tell her. I would have to wait till she remembered for herself.

She stirred, and her hand left mine momentarily to rub her eyes and she looked at me.

"Oh. Good, you're up. I was so worried." Realizing what she just said, she quickly covered it up, "I mean, about you. Like a completely indifferent third party, random stranger…"

"Elena, I…" my voice cracked. She motioned for me to wait, she got up and filled a glass with some water and put a tiny straw into it. Helping me sit up, she held my body against her petite frame and arranged some pillows, I could feel her erratic heartbeat, her hair fell onto my face and our faces were inches apart. I wanted to kiss her so bad; I wanted to make love to her until she remembered everything, my love, my wife. But I couldn't, for her own good.

I controlled myself and sipped on the water she so lovingly held in front of me. Normally I would have screamed at someone who was treating me like an invalid, male ego or whatever, but Elena doing all that for me felt nice, like home, like love in its purest and truest form.

The water tasted better than the best scotch in the world.

"Don't say anything, the doctor told me it was just stress. He prescribed this", she put down a tiny bottle of pills with my name on it, "for the headaches, and advised you try and take it easy with whatever it is that's been bothering you. I'll call for him and be out of your hair right away." She was looking everywhere except for my face, which from all the time that I had known her for told me that this was something she didn't want to do but she was going to do it anyway. Being me, I had to push her.

"Elena, wait."

Her eyes lit up and she looked back at me with an air of cold detachment, "What?"

Smooth Liar Elena. Well, two can play at the game.

"Aren't you even a bit curious about why a random stranger whom you keep bumping into lost consciousness screaming your name in an arbitrary café that the both of us happened to be in?"

"Ummm…You should really not talk. Ermm…The doctor advised rest, lots of it. Keep drinking water, don't mo-"

"Elenaaaa. Stop." I cut her rambling, a Gilbert trait that Jeremy also had; it was merely one of the many things that I found absolutely adorable about her.

I got up, stretched my legs a little and walked up to her, she stood frozen on her spot, hating how little control she had with me around, I smirked in my mind.

"Okay. Don't say what you really want to say. Answer my question. Why are you still here?"

She looked offended and I realized that the way I had framed my question was completely and utterly rude.

"No, what I meant was…Why were you waiting for me to wake up? You did your part, you got me medical attention, why didn't you leave right after a doctor found me, why did you wait here, next to me and hold my hand through it all?"

"What puzzles me more is what happened at the bar last night?", she snapped back.

"Yes, Elena. What happened last night?" I asked her back, taking one more step towards her, she in turn took one step back. I took one more and she felt her back touch the wall. There wasn't much distance between us, I could almost hear her heartbeat, which by the way was completely out of control right now. I took her handbag and set it on the floor, she looked at me and saw that I was wearing a white hospital gown and my jeans under that. My leather jacket neatly folded on the little table next to the rest of my stuff.

I stepped closer to her, our noses almost touching.

"What are you doing?" She said, scared of what might happen next.

"Nothing. Just giving you proof that you want me. Honestly, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you either, Lena. "

She looked into my eyes and lost herself as I lost myself in the eyes I had missed so much in our time apart

"Who are you, Damon? What are you doing to me?" She whispered.

My lips touched hers, a sweet and soft moment. And I took a step back.

This is too much for her. She doesn't even remember me, not yet anyway. I can't push her. It's not right. But she pulled me back in for another tiny moment like that one and kissed me fully; a chaste kiss, with no tongue (much to my dislike) but a fuller, Elena-Damon kiss.

She released me quickly and threw me away, touching her own lips in disbelief. Before she could blame herself or over-think the whole situation like I knew she would, I said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

"No. I'm sorry. I'm married, or I'm supposed to be. I shouldn't have kissed you. I'll just go."

"No, Elena. Don't go. It's okay. Trust me." I held both her arms and looked her right in the eye as I said that.

Her breathing seemed to settle down and her heart returned to normal.

"I'll just go change and then we can probably get a coffee or something, if you want."

"Yeah, that'll be good. I'd like that." She finished and smiled shyly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello fellow fanfictioners! I need your help writing the rest of the story, there are so many things that I want to do but I've already given away so much that I don't think I can take those liberties anymore.**

**Help a girl out will ya?**

**Much Love. As always.**

* * *

**Damon's POV**

**(The day at the café)**

She doesn't even remember me. How can she not? How can I just sit here while she sips on her coffee and not reach out to her, kiss her senseless and coax her into remembering me, remembering us. She's sitting so close and yet she's so far.

**Elena's POV**

**(Present Day)**

He gives me this look, like he knows me. Like he can see through me, like he can look into my soul. He ordered my coffee without even asking me and knew what kind I liked. How is that possible, my answer is 'lucky guess'. Who is this man who knows me more than I know myself? We're sitting in some random cafeteria and not talking, just looking. Nothing is being said and yet there is electricity between us. I look over at him and he is staring at me, we connect and it feels like everything that needs to be said has been said. There is nothing else to know or say or be, he is all I can see. I forget about my problems, I forget about the rest of the world and just be in this moment with him and I feel fine. I feel complete.

Coffee was fine, I realized that it was lunch time already and I had to go to talk to Jeremy about Bonnie and to Caroline and I HAD to fine this Salvatore person. I had already missed him at the café this morning because of Damon and his situation.

It has been three days since that day and I haven't received a single call from that person again. I told Jeremy that he didn't show, for some reason I didn't tell him about Damon. We talked for hours about Bonnie and about his relationship. I could see that he was happy. I knew they were perfect for each other, I've known them my whole life and I knew what each had gone through. On other news, Damon hasn't called. I guess I really went through with the whole 'giving space to his loved ones' thing he was talking about that day. Huh. Wonder why he's ignoring me too.

I called up my office today, since my second first day at work is coming in a few weeks, I spoke to Jules, another copywriter and she told me to 'prepare myself'. Wonder what she's on now.

Also, my doctor said that the dreams I had been having were good sign but the bad part was that I still couldn't remember his face. Of course I saw Damon in my dreams but they were new, my husband was lost somewhere.

Also, Jeremy woke me up this morning and I know that I got up took a bath and got ready but he said that when he came back to my room, I was still sleeping only this time I was sitting next to my bed with my head resting against it. He panicked, he told me, but when he tried to wake me up, I got up at once and didn't really remember anything. The doctor said it could be stress, since the 'brain is a tricky little thing' but I don't seem to be able to keep up these days. I keep sitting in one place and at times I even forget about the bite that's in my mouth or the spoon that I'm holding. It's weird. I want it to stop and everything to go back to normal. Jeremy keeps giving me weird looks ever since the bed thing. I don't like it cuz I just got him to stop, ever since the accident he and Caroline looked at me like I was some alien, they tried to hide it but it was there and I saw it.

Then there's Damon. I can't stop thinking about him. It's like I'm a teenager again and he is my first crush whom I giggle and jump excitedly about.

**Damon's POV**

**(A few days later)**

Stefan was on the phone, probably with Caroline when I came back from my jog. M doctor had allowed me to resume my daily routine after I told her that I remembered everything, the condition being that I would tell her if anything was out of place. She said that there are complicated things that happen in our heads and post trauma patients tend to develop unexplainable medical things even after the accident if not because of it. Like this one patient of hers that she told me about, a year after some accident (similar to mine) complained of severe headache one day and after a CAT scan, she discovered a slowly bleeding vein. It took a year for it to get to a stage when it would disrupt the patient's daily life but when it did; it was fatal if not operated on. So I begrudgingly agreed.

I went for a shower. As the warm water hit my sweaty body I felt my muscles relaxing. I found myself thinking about Elena and what she would be doing right now. It was nearly 7, she would just be getting up right now. After a big cup of coffee, she would do her yoga and then get ready for work but since work didn't start for a couple of weeks she would go to the nearby flower shop and get flowers for the house. She always insisted on doing everything herself, I remembered. Even if it was a catered party, she would always select everything herself, down to the last detail. I had teased her about being like Monica from FRIENDS and she had run after me for ten minutes finally tricking me into bed and making me beg.

Elena. That day at the café post the whole 'losing my mind, getting my memories back' debacle, the hour or so that we'd spent together was beautiful, for the lack of a better word. We didn't talk but the look she was giving me told me everything she wanted to say. I felt like I got my wife back in that moment. But she left, said something about talking to her brother assuming I didn't know about him and Bonnie. I figured that she must've just found out about them again and obviously would've reacted the same way she did the first time she found out. Heh. I chuckled when I remembered the conversation I had with Stefan after I came back.

"_Hey little brother. What are you upto?" I said as I casually walked into the house and jumped onto the couch next to where he was sitting._

"_Umm.. nothing. Just reading my book. What's up with you? How was breakfaaast?" He teased, knowing that I was meeting someone who was most definitely not a man._

"_Great. Stress medication with coffee on the side. The best part was Elena being there." _

_He froze. I wanted to laugh at his expression but I hadn't had my fun yet, I wanted to play with him a little more._

"_Elena? Who is that? Some girl you met?" He tried to act nonchalant but he was forgetting that I was his older brother, I knew him inside out. _

"_Yeah, you know… Elena, as in my WIFE." I stood up as I said wife._

"_What? Who..how?"_

_I couldn't hold it in anymore and I burst out laughing. "I remember, brother. Okay? So you and Caroline can stop walking on eggshells around me, I know. I remember everything."_

"_That's great, Damon!" He hugged me. But a second later, he pulled away and asked, "But, does Elena remember..?"_

"_No. She's still Elena Gilbert. She has no idea who I am."_

"_And you're okay with that?"_

"_No! Of course not! But what can I do? You heard the doctor, she said we can't force each other into remembering things. It's not safe." I sighed, defeated now that I had said it out loud; it had become more solid in my head and in actuality.  
"I'm sorry man. This sucks, I know. But everything will be just fine. She'll come around, you'll see."_

"_I know man. But just looking at her and sitting a few inches away from her and not touching her and her not recognizing me, it's just. Hard."_

I got out of the room, all bright and shiny only to find Stefan and his broody aura sitting on the couch looking down at his phone like some secret answer was going to pop out of it.

"Elena had another episode today."

"Why am I only finding about this now?" I almost screamed back. Sometimes, my brother and his girlfriend acted so naively about things that I wanted to scream at them like dad used to on his 'long days'. Stupid, delusional, exasperating children.

"Caroline thought it would be better, it's not like you can do anything about it. But Elena… She seems to keep forgetting stuff, she's lost. She's lost her sense of time, of place. Caroline just told me. Yesterday when Elena went out to get flowers, just like every free morning, she came back five hours later. Jeremy was so worried. When she came back, she was drenched, cuz she forgot to put on a jacket despite the weather, she forgot to take her phone and so she couldn't tell Jeremy where she was and apparently she was playing with kids in the park. Jeremy called Mrs. Flowers and she said that she was at the cemetery, sitting next to an empty grave. She doesn't remember anything Damon. And she didn't look a least bit worried."

"Stefan, I have to see her. Maybe I can help. I haven't spoken to her in a week and it's killing me. Wait, let me call Jeremy."

Jeremy, Caroline, Stefan and I had met a few days ago to discuss my progress and Elena's lack of it. So he knew what was up and I knew what was happening in their house but this, this was not okay. And Jeremy not telling me on time was just not fine. She's my wife and I deserve to know what's been happening with her.

"Damon" He answered. Nothing else, no 'what's up', no beating around the bush, he went straight to the main priority.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Caroline. It was all her idea. I don't know man. She hasn't been eating properly, cuz she forgets. You know her better than anyone else in the world, tell me what to do?"

Damn Caroline. In her 'I'll protect the world' mission, she did sometimes act very very stupidly.

"What did the doctor say? Please tell me that you told her about this."

"Yeah yeah. I took her the first time it happened. You know, the bed thing right? I found her almost passed out next to the bed. This was even worse. She was freezing when she got back and she didn't even feel it. She's not looking at old photo albums anymore, she doesn't Google your name anymore."

He was rambling, again. Oh these Gilberts. I cut him off and said, "Jer, the doctor?"

"Oh, yeah. She did another scan but she didn't see anything. She did seem worried but she gave her some pills and said they'll start working in a few days."

"Where is she right now? I want to see her. I don't know what I'll say, but I just need to talk to her and figure it out."

"We're at the hospital right now getting a refill because she accidently threw her last bottle in the trash. We'll go for lunch after this; I'm taking her out for something greasy so that she gets some food into her. But I don't know man. You being here when she still doesn't remember. Remember what the doctor said."

It wasn't a question. His tone was careful, he knew I'd snap.

"Jeremy. Text me the address of the café. I'll meet you guys there. I'll just 'happen to be there' and you'll then run off for some errand, make something up with Bonnie, okay? Lena's met me quite a few times, she likes me. I think my wife may even have a crush on me."

"Yeah yeah. Just promise you won't force her, I'll stay close. Just text me if you think you can't take it anymore, I'll take her and leave. We don't want pressurizing her anymore than she already is. I can't lose her." His voice cracked.

"Jeremy, I promise I won't do anything that would in an way hurt Elena. She's my wife, I need her back but I'm going to give her time."

"Fine. See you there. It's the corner diner next to the pet store she got her goldfish from."

Oh yeah. Goldilocks. Elena loved that fish and my fuzzy orange cat hated that little monster. Happy days, I sighed.

"I'll be there in 10."

* * *

**P.S. I saw The perks of being a wallflower. Have I told you that I've loved the book ever since I read it? Have you read it? Do you love it? Are you a wallflower too?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Heyyyy! **

**Can someone please tell me how to go about looking for a beta? I read the whole thing but somehow it didn't make a lot of sense then. **

**Also tell me if you want the chapters to be longer**

**Much Love**

* * *

**Damon's POV**

We had just started dating when Elena said she wanted to have a pet. We bought that little golden fish together. Little did we know that Mr. Zazzles would hate and I'm not exaggerating at all, he hated, despised that little thing. He had tried to eat it quite a few times before Elena losing all her patience and hit him on the head, the only time that she's ever done anything like that. Zazzy never tried anything after that. I think animals are smarter than we'd like to believe. Zazzy sure was upset with Elena for a few hours, but when she put down his favorite food for dinner, he mewled sweetly, licked her legs and ate his dinner quietly. Elena was devastated when Goldilocks (a name I suggested) died. She even had a proper funeral and everything for her. Everyone had to come and she said her words, I said something witty and Jeremy begrudgingly said some nice lines he had written, Elena cried when Jeremy said them. The little brat told me later that he's originally written them for his first girlfriend, I told him not to tell Elena that.

I was sitting in the parking waiting for Jeremy and Elena to come. To say that I was worried would have been an understatement. From whatever I had heard from Jeremy about Lena's condition I knew that it wasn't okay. Whatever was happening to her wasn't a good thing at all. I just had to see her for myself. I missed her. Ever since getting my memory back, I hadn't seen her or held her and I was dying inside. Every moment that I had to spend away from her was killing me. What was killing me more was that I couldn't even do anything about it. I had spoken to the agency and explained that I could join back sooner, just so that I would have something to do, something to occupy my mind with and not obsess over Elena but that was in vain.

The moment I entered the office area, every corner reminded me of her, every memory we'd made inside those walls came rushing back to me especially my particular favorite

_when somehow we were the only ones who stayed back because of an important campaign that we both were working on because the copywriter on my team had gone on a maternity leave, and the lights went out. I was particularly antsy about the campaign because my boss, the big daddy of my firm had promised me a huge promotion if I landed that ad and also because keeping back a guy from planning because of a creative person was just not acceptable. Yes, I used to be a cocky bastard then, who was ready to give it off to the little brunette who was currently working on the advert. I was pissed at whoever's fault it was that a campaign that I was handling was being done at the last minute, something that I never let happen. She informed me of the problems she had faced that day, her brother was in the hospital because of a negative reaction that he had with some drug and she had been with him there, plus it wasn't her job but she was doing it only because… well, Elena is THAT brilliant and kind and helpful and sweet. Anyway. _

_I didn't acknowledge the reasons she gave me then and went back to my desk, hoping to finish some of the subsequent paper work. Irritated with the waiting, I was just about to get up to check what she had been up to when the lights went out and I heard her scream and then subsequent ' I'm okays'. Dulling down with every chant... I thought it must have been a reflex and thankfully I had enough battery left on my laptop, so I resumed working. Five minutes or so, I heard a loud noise like something had fallen, I thought she must've dropped something so I dialed the building manager. He didn't reply and it had been some time since I had heard from Elena. I would have killed her if she was sleeping, I was THAT pissed. I somehow found my way over to her desk but didn't see her there. Damn woman, what are you doing! We need to get serious work done. I picked up my phone and called her number, hoping she had her phone with her wherever the hell she was. _

_One ring, two rings, three rings. It's on silent. Shit! _

_I called again, looked at all the other desks in exasperation. I saw some sort of light near the coffee stand. I started walking towards the light and found Elena passed out on the floor with her phone on the floor vibrating because of my ongoing call. Being the eternal stud, the lack of light and Elena's stubbornness at not getting up, I carried outside to my car to take her to the ER and get her checked. Driving over the closest hospital, I couldn't help sneaking glances at the beautiful girl in the backseat. Her long brown hair were falling over her head and her hands hanging limply on the sides, her legs wrapped under by jacket that I had put over her in case she should feel cold. Her face was peaceful, calm like she didn't have to worry about her brother or her parents or her friends, nothing at all. She was content. I was almost at the destination when I heard her whimpers. She was up now, and she wanted me stop the car. I did as she wanted and opened the door to her seat. _

"_Elena" I said. _

"_Don't die. Please. It's too dark. I can't breathe." She sobbed._

_I melted at how pained she sounded. I wanted to make everything okay for her; I wanted to give her everything she wanted. _

_I held her, holding her shoulders and hugged her tight. She was still sobbing and I was whispering sweet nothings to soothe her in her ear. When she finally calmed down a little, she pulled away a little and looked at me, pain leaving almost completely and guilt and embarrassment replacing it on her face. _

"_It's okay. Don't apologize. I'll ask for an extension, nothing to worry about."_

"_Thank you. For tonight." _

_She was still avoiding my gaze, like she wouldn't be able to keep it all together if I saw her eyes, and hence her soul. She would have gone forever without letting all this pain out if I hadn't helped her. Oh this poor girl, I felt genuinely sad for her. She was being brave, protecting her heart, something I had mastered in. So I knew exactly what she doing, but the look on her face, the slight twitching of the corners of her mouth and the wet lashes above her beautiful brown eyes, the soft wheezes I could hear through her breaths, the shaking of her hands, I wanted to be there for her, I wanted to know and then make it all okay. _

"_It's okay Elena. Let it all out. Do you want me to take you somewhere, anyplace where you'll feel better?" I suggested._

_She looked up at me at this. Surprised by how softly I had spoken the last line. Shit Damon, that's the nicest thing you've said to her all day. Shame on you._

"_If we could just go back to the office, I just need to pick up my stuff and if it's okay with you, head home? You've done so much already, thank you, really. But I just want to go home."_

"_Okay. But are you sure you're okay?"_

"_Yeah yeah, let me just get out and stretch a little." She started moving out as she said this, but as soon as her feet hit the ground, her knees gave way and she almost fell before I reached out and steadied her against my body. She sat on the edge of the car seat and rolled up her jeans, there was a little reddening on her ankle with slight swelling. _

"_Oh shit. I must've hurt my foot when I went to look for extra torches to the coffee counter." She said, assessing her injuries. So that's what she was doing there! God Damon, you should really stop jumping to conclusions. I got her settled back in, and drove back to the office. The drive to the office was a quick one, she had fallen asleep on the backseat probably from the pain, so I ran upstairs got all our stuff put in the trunk and woke her up. She was startled but in a very cute way. _

"_Oh. We're here already. "_

"_Yeah, I ran inside and got all our stuff, now next stop is your place."_

"_I can take it from here. Let me just call a cab, I don't want to be any more trouble for you."_

"_Elena. Stop. You're faaaar from trouble. Let me help you. Let someone help you for once."_

_She quieted down after that. And said a soft okay. _

"_I'll just shift to the front; you're not like my driver."_

_She tried getting out again and nearly fell, taking support of the door. So, I jumped in and picked her up placed her on the seat next to the driver's seat, shut the door, got in on my side, started the car and said, "Just tell me where, Elena?"_

_She seemed flushed. Her face went a little red around her cheeks and her bottom lip came out in a pout. So adorable! _

"_Just drive, I'll tell you where to turn." And she very cutely, if I may add, folded her arms over chest very defensively._

_It was twenty minutes of stolen looks, pouts from her sides, smirks on my face and random songs playing on the radio when we finally reached her place. _

_I stopped outside her place, got out of the car and went over to her side. She was having some trouble with the seat belt so I bent over her and got her free. In that fleeting moment of or bodies somewhat touching, my heartbeat spiked over to bordering on a heart attack. I could feel it about to literally jump out of my chest cavity._

_I picked her up again and this time she audibly huffed, she fished out the keys from her back and opened the door while still in my arm. _

"_Where do you want me to..umm..?" I said. And she pointed towards the stairs._

_There were two rooms upstairs, one with a nice flowery…mural thing on the door and one with all sorts of skulls and demons on it. I figured hers must be the former so I opened it, set her down on the bed and put her things on the little table in the corner. I ran down to the kitchen, found some pain reliever and got some water and gave it to her. _

_I was about to leave when I heard a quiet "Do you want to stay?" I was surprised. She was awfully trusting of a man that she just happened to work with._

"_Do you want me to stay?" I asked back, unsure of her question. I didn't want her to feel obligated or whatever about letting me stay, just because I had helped her out earlier in the day._

"_Yeah, I mean it's really late and Jeremy's not home tonight. And after the lights going off thing at the office I really.. " she gulped, scared obviously, "Really don't want to stay alone. If you want to…" She was babbling. Was there anything about this woman that wasn't adorable?! _

"_Fine, I'll stay. " _

_She released a happy breath, relieved that someone was going to stay with her for the night. _

"_Umm... there are extra sheets in the cabinet over there, help yourself; since I really can't move right now."_

"_It's okay. You go to sleep. Try and relax a little. I'll manage. Actually I don't sleep this early, I'm just going to be downstairs, holler if you need me, okay?"_

"_Okay." And she gave me this look full of trust and sincere appreciation. I wanted to do more things to warrant that look, to make her proud, to have her trust me, to have her feel loved when I take care of her._

_I was working on some product campaigns and didn't realize how much time had passed but it was a couple of hours later when I heard a scream from upstairs. I ran back up and saw Elena crying in her sleep. I went to her and she clutched me to him. _

"_Shhh. It's okay Elena. I'm here."_

_I had heard in and around the office that Elena had had a rough life and whatever she had achieved was on her own. I hadn't put much thought to it but now I guess I saw how damaged she was. One night and one bad experience with darkness and she was a shivering mess in my arms. _

"_Please don't die. It's so dark in here. Please."_

"_Hey, hey, listen to me. I'm not going anywhere."_

"_Okay. I believe you." _

_I moved the covers and got under them with Elena holding on to my chest like it was her lifeline. Not having had a moment to myself when she screamed I had forgotten that currently I was shirtless. Huh. This was going to be a fun conversation in the morning. _

_She softened down to almost inaudible whimpers as I stroked her hair. She had great hair. Really. But what I really noticed was how quickly my touch soothed her, how deeply I understood her and how similar yet different we were. In that moment I knew that Elena was going to be a big part of who I would in the future. In that moment, I saw soothing her, being there for her, caring for her, loving her for the rest of my life. Of course we may fight along the way, but our love would conquer everything else. I knew that…_

I broke out of my flashback and noticed Jer leading Lena into the café. I shut off the engine to my car and counted till twenty for Elena to get settled into the café and not suspect anything. Then I casually strolled into the tiny little place and as I moved over to Elena's table I could hear her saying something about always wanting a pet. Jeremy looked a little sad, honestly that guy needed to work on his acting skills to at least try and not look sad and sympathetic. Elena always told me that the worst thing that people can give you is their sympathy and their pity. That's why she never told people about what exactly happened in her childhood because she didn't want people looking at her like she was helpless or something. This amnesia and the looks people had been giving her had to be killing her, I knew that. I just couldn't do anything about it.

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**Reviews are love. Please send some my way. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for taking so long. I had festivals and stuff. Sorrrrrryyyyy. Also, this one is sort of a filler, not much action as far as the plot is concerned. I've decided how I'm going to pan this story out so the subsequent chapters shouldn't take too long. **

**Please review after you're done reading. Thankyou :)**

**Much love, like always.**

**Okay, more than last time. **

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**(Elena's POV)**

**Present Day**

Things had been weird, to say the least. I was doing things everyday but I didn't remember them, I was eating but I rarely could recollect what I ate, I wasn't living… just existing. I wasn't working, wasn't writing, wasn't singing, and wasn't talking. I just was. And it was weird because I had been fine ever since the accident, well as fine as fine can be. I had had no relapses like the doctor had told me about, none of the symptoms, none of the post trauma effects. I was happy. I was rediscovering myself, and rekindling the relationships, got reacquainted with the people I cared about. Plus I had met Damon. Agreed that he was an enigma in my mind and those visions I had about him were equally unexplainable but I was okay. I was happy wherever I was but all this was not okay. Jeremy was visibly worried and I was super worried because I could see how worried he was. Caroline texted me every few hours to check what I had been upto, Bonnie was staying over as much as she could to what I guessed was, to keep an eye on me. Jeremy told me that he had scheduled an appointment with my doctor for the following day and that I had to have more tests, whatever. I just wanted this to get over.

But today was different. I can still tell you what all I've done since morning, I was happy, walking on sunshine or whatever. I felt like today was my day, I would go wherever I wanted, do whatever I want, with whoever I want and somehow that someone was slowly becoming Damon, in my mind.

What kind of a person does that make me? I have a husband or atleast I had one but I don't remember him and here I am thinking about some other guy whom I met and frankly he wasn't even very nice to me the first time we met. I shouldn't be thinking of any other guy except for my husband, I should be trying to find him, jogging up my memory and try and go back to the life that I had but no, here I am, fantasizing like a little schoolgirl about some cute guy. Elena! What are you doing? Stop thinking about Damon! He's nothing.

But that's the problem. He felt like something, like someone of extreme importance. Whatever happened to me when I was near him was different; it felt like I belonged, like he was my home. Like I could breathe again when I was with him, like I waiting for our breaths to mingle for me to really take anything in, like I was waiting for his touch to feel again. It felt weird, different but good and comforting.

Stop thinking about him Elena. Think about your husband. Maybe if I see his face once or fill in the blank before Salvatore, maybe if I spoke to him once, maybe if we met, maybe then I'd remember something.

I heard Jer talking to someone on the phone and unlike me, I moved towards the wall that connected our bedrooms. First thinking about other men when you're supposed to be married and now eavesdropping, who are you Elena?

_"I don't know, she just doesn't seem like herself."_

Pause.

_"No, she is up right now. I just checked. She just finished getting ready; we're heading over to the hospital to get her prescription refilled."_

A little pause and then Jer cut whoever was on the other side but when he spoke this time, his voice sounded unsure like he was almost whispering.

_"I think we should tell him. The doctor cleared him, he can handle it. He knows best how to deal with her."_

Him? Who? It should be 'her'. Whom were they talking about?

_"Yeah, I know that. She didn't tell me. I'm sure they've met after that as well; I heard her singing that night. When they had just started dating, she used to sing the same song, that's how I caught on. "_

Really? This wasn't just a one-time-thing. Huh. Maybe I still am the same person.

_"I have to tell him. You've told Stefan already, he'll cave in eventually. I should tell him, Care. Bonnie also said-"_

Whom were they talking about? I had to find out so I pressed in closer but I accidentally dropped a few books that were on my desk and there was a loud thud sound.

_"I'm telling him. I'll call you later. I heard something."_

I ran back to the other side of the room and tried to look like I was doing something, anything other than look like I had been eavesdropping, anything Elena!

"Umm..Lena?" I heard my brother say as he walked into my room.

"Hey Jer, I was just…ummm…."

He gave me a weird look and looked around the room, spotting the books that had fallen onto the floor. He picked them up and put them back onto the desk and gave me a knowing look.

I must've looked like I had been caught cheating on some test because not five seconds later Jer chuckled and said, "You ready to go? The doctor leaves in another hour."

"Yeah, I'll meet you downstairs in two. Let me just grab my stuff."

As soon as he walked out of the door, I rushed to the phone to check whom he was talking to about this mysterious guy, most probably my husband. From the conversation I had summed up that this Mr. X was fine now because some doctor had given him the heads up, he could handle some Ms. X and that Jeremy was going to tell him something, and some Stefan already knew that something.

I read the screen and looked at the last dialed number-Caroline.

Shit. She's not going to tell me anything. Fuck fuck fuck, a million times fuck.

***At the hospital***

Jeremy kept looking at his phone every few minutes.

"Are you waiting for someone to call?" I asked.

"No, no.. Umm… Bonnie, yeah. Bonnie said she'd call. That's it. No worries, is it our turn yet?"

"Jer? Are you okay? I think you need these meds more than me." I joked and he smiled. But he looked uncomfortable.

I was still inspecting his face for any other signs when suddenly his phone started ringing.

"Hey, are you okay here? I'll take this outside, the reception sucks inside."

Weird. I checked my phone and I had full power.

I nodded. He quickly walked out but not before giving me one last look.

It felt like I was in a dream. You know, one of those where everything and everyone seems different? Everything is weird and you can't make sense of anything? Yeah, that one.

I followed Jeremy, he was sitting on the bench right outside the gate, so I hid behind and listened in. There was a lot of noise around the hospital so I could only heard tidbits. But anything is better than nothing, right?

_"Caroline..idea..forget…it's worse. Doctor…scans…pills..hospital…force.. lose her.."_

I froze when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Elena Gilbert?"

Phew. It was only a nurse.

***At the café***

Jeremy insisted that we have lunch outside today, some celebration of sorts and I was feeling better so I agreed. The problem is that he's been looking outside ever since we got here, like some criminal looking out for himself or something. I ordered an iced tea and when the waitress asked Jeremy for his order, he said he needed time to think about it. Jeremy always takes iced tea, ever since we were kids and our parents used to take us out, Jer and I always took iced tea, why would he need to 'think about it'?

strange.

Oddly odd.

My brother and my closest friends stay intent on not telling me anything for 'my own good', I have a husband I can't remember, five years of my life have been erased from my brain and I have a unexplainable connection with a random guy named Damon. I had to ask someone for some info, Jeremy had been having a lot of weird phone calls lately. I needed to know.


	13. Chapter 13

**As an apology for not updating, here is another chapter on the same day. I hope you guys like it. If not, please let me know. PM/Review me if you don't like how I've presented the characters. Follow/Fav if you like it. **

**Much love.**

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**Damon's POV**

**Present Day**

Elena was sitting next to Jeremy sipping on her Iced Tea and Jeremy was looking outside. From my seat, I could see Elena's irritated expressions, the glances she kept throwing towards Jeremy; he wasn't realizing that this was bugging her.

The accident shouldn't have happened. I should be with her right now, because I knew exactly what irritated her, pissed her off, made her happy, made her cry (with happy tears of course). I didn't blame our friends for wanting to shield Elena from me, I knew that I was bad news and she could have done better than me but somehow, by some stroke of luck on my part, some flash of lightning she had fallen for me and I had been lucky enough to be blessed with a love so strong as the one I felt for Elena. The first few months of dating had been hard. Both emotionally and physically. Emotionally because we kept having fights on stupid issues on where to go for a date, little spats escalated into full blown battles. Caroline was initially completely against our relationship because she knew what sort of a woman Elena was, how level headed she was and how much of a misfit I was for her. But then she started realizing that even though we fought like the biggest enemies in the world, we loved each other like no other, that we fought because we challenged each other every step of the way but that we were together when it came to the important steps. Jeremy too had had his inhibitions about me, given my past history and how emotionally stunted Katherine's betrayal had left me but then he saw what Elena did to me and how she brought me back to life. Physically because well… Our sex was amaaaaazing. Most of our fights ended up with us having sex on whatever surface we found and atleast one torn piece of clothing.

Elena was annoyed, I could see that. Almost as if she could sense my presence in the café, she looked at me. Shit. She's looking at you Damon, do something! I smiled and waved. She smiled, all the annoyance quickly evaporated as soon as our eyes locked. But then a second later, doubt and guilt took over that smile and she looked down. I texted Jeremy to go and waited for him to leave. It was physically hurting to wait in my booth for even a second longer so I got up and walked towards her as casually as I could, trying to hide my smirk at how surprised she looked.

"Hey, I couldn't help notice you sitting here by yourself. Mind if I join you?"

She looked around, unsure about letting me sit. "Umm… no no. Sure. Have a seat."

Since I had a part to play, I pretended to not know anything about her, and trying to ease the tension, I asked her about Jeremy (since the Damon she knew had only met her thrice, briefly and couldn't know about her brother or anything else about her life)

"What kind of a boyfriend leaves such a beautiful girlfriend on such a pleasant day in such a cute little café?"

She chuckled. Ah, I missed that. I had missed the sound of her voice and her laugh. The house sounded empty without her in it. I wish I could record it and play it over and over like I had been doing with the voicemail recording of the two of us.

"Umm.. He had some important work. I'll leave in some time. No biggie." She twitched her nose like she did whenever she was lying about something.

Honestly I was a little hurt when she didn't clarify that Jeremy was not her boyfriend but her brother, why did she do that? Did she not like me? Her body sure did. By the way she had visibly relaxed and smiled back when I waved to her, by the way her heart had sped up when we met at The Grill, by the way she couldn't stop looking at me that day after she helped me at the hospital. She had to atleast like me to behave that way. Why wasn't she denying my assumption?

"Won't he mind you sitting here with someone as handsome as yours truly?" I asked.

She blushed. That beautiful olive skin tinted with a shade of red was my second favorite shade in the world. The first being her post-coital blush.

"Umm... No. He's cool like that."

She took another sip from her tea and I called the waitress to give her my order.

Despite the amnesia and all of whatever Elena didn't know about at the moment, it felt normal sitting here with her.

"Hey Wendy. I'll have one coffee. Black-"

Before I could continue, Elena completed my order. "One cube of sugar, no milk and it should be scalding hot when you get it."

She paused and looked at me in disbelief. I could hear the churning of thoughts and the overload of questions in her head but she didn't say anything.

I was doing a victory dance in my head. She remembered me! She remembered how I took my coffee. That was something, right? Oh Thank God! She remembered. Oh shit. She remembered my coffee but not me. Before I could disentangle my happiness from preparations for what I was going to say to ease the doubt in Elena's mind Wendy said, "Haha. I knew she'd complete that for you. It's good to see you guys again. I was wondering where you guys had gone." And she walked away.

Shit. Fuck. Crap. All the world's worth of bad timings. Fuck.

Elena was the first to break the silence, "What do you mean 'again'? Have we come here before?"

"Umm.. Elena-"

"Have I met you before? Am I supposed to know you or something?"

Quick Damon. Tell her the truth but not the complete truth. Think.

"Elena, we work together. I'm in planning, you're in copy. Remember? I heard about what happened so I didn't ambush you when I met you for the first time. You remember me, very very vaguely because we've known each other for a long time now, it's normal"

"Umm… But there's more?"

"We're sort of close. I don't know how to explain that. I know how difficult this is for you, not being able to recognize people you're supposed to have met before, feeling lost in your own skin, I know that. And I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. Just like always."

"Umm… Thanks, Damon. I don't know what to say. It's a lot to take in, I'm not sure how or what to say. I'm sorry about all this."

I took her hand in mine and looked her right in the eye when I said what I had to say next.

"Elena, don't apologize. You have nothing to feel guilty about. I'm your friend and I'm here for you. You'll remember soon. Don't worry. Just don't push yourself too much; I've seen enough of Grey's Anatomy to know that that never turns out the way you want it to."

"Grey's? You watch that? I looove that show." She replied, switching the conversation to a lighter note.

***two hours later***

We talked about nothing at all and yet everything. The last two hours literally flew by. I realized we were following a repeated crest and trough trajectory; we would start one topic, keep talking about it and raise it to a very dangerously personal level and then one of us would change the topic and we would fall back to zero, raise it again and then fall back. I was avoiding questionable topics and she was avoiding personal connections. I was picking up on the changes in her ever since the accident, she was picking up new reactions since I was practically a stranger to her at this moment.

I didn't remind her about the changes she had made in herself like her favorite dessert or how she took her steaks now, I tried not to look hurt when she told me about Elijah although she quickly changed the topic realizing she had crossed the threshold of personal topics, I thought it prudent to not tell her about Jeremy and that I knew that they were brother and sister so I let it slide to when she remembered it herself.

I'll play if she was challenging me.

Her phone rang, it was Jeremy. He was coming to pick her up. I hate reality. As soon as you start falling into your routine, the one you're comfortable in, the one that you know like the back of your hand, the one where you can be you with the people who matter to you, reality picks you by your hair and throws you to the ground. She had to go, Jeremy was going to pick her up in five minutes, she had to go, I had to let her go and say my goodbyes, pretend to be an old friend and not take her in my arms and kiss her, pretend to not know her like her husband but just a guy from her office and not want to rip off all her clothes and test if I knew her body like I knew I knew it. I had to let Jeremy take her away from me.

Until the next time.


	14. Chapter 14

**Yay! Long chapter!**

**Reviews are love. Please send some for me.**

**Much love, as always.**

**your rambler.**

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**Elena's POV**

**(Present Day)**

It felt odd lying to Damon about Jeremy. Did he buy it? He seemed to have bought it. I didn't anymore guilt, other than what I was already feeling about having feelings for Damon. Feelings? What feelings? Get a grip Elena. You've only just met him.

All that, coupled with those piercing looks that he kept giving me weren't doing anything good for my fragile heart. Nothing even remotely good, let alone under advised medical conditions. But whom could I talk to? Caroline was always busy on the phone when she wasn't lecturing me about pushing myself too much. Jeremy had his own thing with Bonnie to sort and those mysterious phone calls he had been taking. Whenever I sat down to write, my mind just went blank, everything vanished except for those astonishingly beautiful blue eyes.

I was in my room, all alone; laying in a fetal position on m bed trying not to think about anything at all, especially not those eyes that were currently haunting my every thought.

Damon. Damon. WHY did that sound special? Like it held some special place in my heart? Why was I feeling whatever I was feeling? Why? Why did I feel like I was home whenever I was with him? All those things and feelings that I had read about in stupid books and fake stories were what I felt when I was with him, the feeling of not needing words but expressing everything we felt with our eyes alone, needing to touch him, crumbling down when I wasn't with him, losing my breath when I was, butterflies in my stomach, the frantic beating of my heart, the dilation of my pupils, the echoes in my head, the voices in my mind, everything was coming true.

Who are you Damon? Why are you having this effect on me?

"Hey Lena! I'm leaving, you sure you'll be okay?"

Jeremy had planned a special dinner for Bonnie tonight. He was taking her to 'their' place.

"Yes, I will be. I'm the older sibling, remember?"

"Yeah..but.. you sure?"

"I'll be fine Jer. Go enjoy your date with Bonnie."

"Call me if _anything_ feels wrong. Anything at all and you'll call me, promise?"

"Yes dad. I promise. Now go! Shoo!"

"Okay then. I'll see you soon. Bye Lena."

He came and kissed me on my head before leaving. As soon as I heard him start his car and drive off, I rushed downstairs to take some meds for my headache. I had been getting more and more of these lately but I hadn't told anyone, not even Jeremy. Everyone was already so worried about me, I didn't want to burden them with anymore drama. I had been keeping a lot of secrets lately. It was tough, but I had to. After receiving worried responses from Jer when I mentioned Damon's name, I had stopped telling him about meeting him at all which was happening quite often. He would just happen to drop by wherever I went and whoever I was with initially would happen to come up with some work. It was weird but after the first few minutes, Damon would get my mind completely off of it.

Damon. Ah. I wonder what he was doing right now. Just because my life sucked didn't mean his life had to too. I imagined a happy house, Damon and his wife cooking together, living together, snuggling in front of the fire together, her wearing Damon's clothes after sex, Damon comforting her after a rough day, sleeping on the same bed every night, Damon making coffee for her in the morning, shower sex, going for walks together, celebrating festivals together… kids. Damon, his wife and their kids playing together. Damon would be the perfect dad and his kids would be true copies of him.

Please let the wife be ugly. Please let her have hideous hair. Please let her be fat. Please God.

Stop it Elena. You're not that person. Plus you're married. Forget about Damon. Relax and try and get rid of this headache so that you can start your Grey's Anatomy marathon.

***one hour later***

I was sitting in front of the TV but my headache had only heightened in the past hour. And against my better judgment, I had texted Damon once already. I was feeling very very cold even though I had turned the thermostat up a few degrees.

"_Hey! What's up? Want to meet?"_ He replied.

"_Can't. Not feeling too well."_ I texted him back.

"_What's wrong? Want to hang anyway?"_

"_Umm.. No. I don't want you to get whatever I have."_

"_I'm already on my way. See you in five."_

And true to his word, I heard a knock in five minutes. I had no energy in my body so I texted him that there was a spare key under the rug and told him to come straight to the TV room.

"It's burning up in here. What's up?"

I hadn't even bothered with make up so I had no idea how I must've looked or what warranted that expression on his face because he froze as soon as he saw me.

"You don't look so good, Lena. Have you taken anything?"

"Umm.. I'm sure it's nothing. Just a little headache. It'll pass. I'm so sorry I'm not in a better shape or I would have made something for you."

"Don't worry about it. Have you had anything to eat by the way?"

"Umm.. Yeah, I had lunch with Jer before he left."

"Elena, that was _hours_ ago."

"It's fine. I'm not hungry anyway. "

"No. It's not. You should really take better care of yourself. But never fear when Damon is here."

"No. no. You don't have to do that."

"Elena, I want to." And then he gave me this look, like he would kiss me but then something shifted and he sighed and went to the kitchen.

I heard some noises from the kitchen and tried getting up but I couldn't. I had gotten close enough with Damon so I just let him be and played whichever episode I had been watching before he came. Meredith and Derek were discussing something about her mother and Alzheimer's.

"Lena?" Damon was looming over me with a sort of concerned expression on his face. I awoke with a start. Oh shit, I must've fallen asleep.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about this. Huh… You're here and I'm unwell. I don't even know what's wrong with me."

He touched my forehead and almost shouted, "God Elena! You're burning up! Have you taken something?"

"Yeah, I took something when Jeremy left. I just need to sleep, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"Elena, I need to take you to the ER. I can't believe he left you here when you weren't feeling well."

"Damon, I'm fine. See.." I said as I tried getting up but my legs wobbled and I almost hit the couch before Damon caught me. I sat back down and he wrapped the blankets around my shivering frame.

"Elena, I think we should go to the hospital right now."

"Damon, I'm fine. I don't want to go to the hospital. Please?"

"Okay, fine. But let's get you upstairs so that you can rest comfortably, I'm sure the couch isn't all that warm and cozy."

I looked up at him, trying to find answers to all the questions in my mind about him like why was he being so nice to me? Why was he helping me? Why was he here? Why did his touch send shivers down my spine? Why was he helping a sick girl who had lost her memories instead of getting drunk at some bar or spending time with her wife or girlfriend? Also, trying to assuage some of the guilt I was feeling.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because you deserve being loved and being taken care of" His expression somber, the sarcastic cocky moron was gone, and in his wake he had left a caring, sensitive, loving man who knew how to take care of a girl.

"Won't your girlfriend mind you being here with me?"

"I'll ask her if and when I find her. But the real question is won't Jeremy mind?" And he did that eye thing that made me lose my senses. I looked down sheepishly and smiled. He had caught on to it. "Jeremy… is my brother. I don't have a boyfriend, but it's complicated."

"I knew that. But it was nice to know that your lying hasn't improved at all. You can tell me all about it when you finish this soup. It's amazing, if I may say so myself."

"Annnd he's back. Fine. I'll have it."

Maybe third time's the charm. I tried getting up again and succeeded. Yay! One point for Elena! But in all but five seconds, I lost my balance and Damon had to carry me to my bedroom.

Five minutes later, I was in my bed, under two layers of blankets, had just finished one full bowl of chicken soup and as much as I hated admitting it, it was rather delicious. Damon really had magic fingers. While I was eating it, the sounds coming out of my mouth gave it away and he smirked like the ass that he was. Arrogant smug bastard.

I wanted him to stay the night. Sure, that would mean crossing a plethora of lines in one night but I wanted to be close to him, as soon as I prepared myself to ask him that question, a bizarre sense of déjà vu hit me.

"_Do you want to stay?" _

"_Really don't want to stay alone. If you want to…"_

"Did you say something?" I asked.

"No. Why? What's wrong?"

I couldn't see him anymore, I had floated a million years away, into a distant memory, in some parallel universe where I was in the same room and Damon was there but we were wearing different clothes. All I could see was that it was completely dark in my room and that he was stroking my hair and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. He was holding me like I was going to fade away and I was holding onto him like he was my everything.

"_Hey, hey, listen to me. I'm not going anywhere."_

"_Mrs. Salvatore. I don't know, sounds more like meant to be."_

_And then he kissed me. It was everything a kiss should be, full of love and admiration._

"_Shhh. It's okay Elena. I'm here."_

I broke out of my reverie and touched my lips. Damon was still standing there looking a little lost and anxious. I didn't know the words to explain what I had just seen; it was like a morphed memory, like imagining a scene from some book, like a series of images flashing at Godspeed. Nothing was making any sense anymore.

"Elena, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Damon, I… I don't know."

It must've been some latent sexual urge and I shrugged it off into the 'brood over when alone' section in my mind; could not afford looking more like an idiot than I already had, especially in front of Damon.

"It's okay. It'll pass, Elena. I'm here. That's what friends are for, right?"

Friends. Yeah. That was what he was. He probably didn't even think of me that way. Friends… right. I had known that all along but him saying out loud hurt, for some unknown reason, it hurt.

"Yeah, friends. But you've already done so much. Thankyou for taking care of me, I really didn't want to be alone but I couldn't tell Jer. He planned this whole special dinner for Bonnie and I couldn't call Care, she was busy. I thought of who I could talk to and somehow my list started and ended with you."

Great, I was rambling again.

But the look on his face rendered my speechless. He was looking at me like I was the only girl in the world, like I was his sunshine, like I was his life.

"_I'll never stop loving you, Elena."_

_His eyes were teary and he was hurting, I could see that he was in pain. _

"_Please know that I'll always be here."_

"Elena?" He called me.

"Yes. I don't know what's happening. Can you stay with me?"

"Yes, sleep. I'll be here when you wake up. You need to sleep it off."

He climbed onto my bed, and lay down on his side. Even though he was above the blankets and I was under, I could feel the warmth resonating from his body into mine. He took my hand in his and drew circles with his thumb.

"Sleep, Lena. I'm here."

"Thankyou Damon."

I didn't when I started falling into the peaceful arms of unconsciousness. The last thing I remember is thinking of him, his breath mingling with mine, his hand on mine and his voice saying

"_I love you Lena. "_

_**Please let me know if you don't like the direction I've taken. Review/PM/follow/fav. Critique/love. Anything will do. :)**  
_


	15. Chapter 15

**Another chapter!**

**Tell me what you think of this.**

**SMUT alert! I hope you guys like it, it's very...childish. **

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_We'd been married for a couple of months now but this was the first time she was away from me, geographically. Elena had planned a surprise for me. I was intrigued how she would give me my surprise when she was miles away visiting her brother's art exhibit and I was here, in our house all alone._

_It was already 8 o clock which meant that the exhibition would be over and she would be in her hotel room by now. We had developed this routine of talking to each other every day after she was free but she hadn't called till now. I was running every bad possibility through my mind and thinking of what authority to call when my phone buzzed. _

_E: What's on your mind?_

_D: You. Naked and Raw. To be used for my animal desires. That's what._

_E: Remember that red top I have. The one that pushes out my boobs… the one you really like?_

_D: YES! From the description you gave me of it on you, that. I like to initiate the process of having you in something to having you in nothing; I enjoy sliding my fingers underneath the fabric and pulling it off, slowly._

_E: You can't be on top every time._

_D: What are you going to do when your wrists and ankles are clamped down and all that you can see are the depths of my hungry eyes?_

_E: I will..er..fight. I'll have to let you have your way with me and then… wait for my turn._

_D: I'll enjoy the process of watching you giggle when you can't resist further. What will you do then? How will you pleasure the man who owns you?_

_E: Oh I will. If I do win, I'll tie you up. Cover your eyes. Lick and kiss your entire body. Except where you want it the most. Not until you beg_

_D: Mmm.. You teasing seductress. And when I get down on my knees and beg you to?_

_E: You can't! You're all tied up! You'll have to use your words and your very talented mouth._

_D: Does my talented mouth get to feast on your thighs and the treasure that lies between them?_

_E: Oh yes absolutely. It's yours for the taking._

_D: Will you wrap your thighs tight around my head, not allowing my tongue a moment's respite?_

_E: Yes. I'll do anything you want me to, if you never stop. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?_

_D: Mmm.. Getting your panties wet? ;)_

_E: Yes very. What are you doing right now?_

_D: Imagining you turning around infront of me, slide your panties down and dangle them in front of my face, while I, tied down, crave to bring it to my mouth. Your move?_

_E: Then I lie down beside you and start touching myself. Playing with my breasts imagining you. Flicking my nipples. And then touching you. You groan under me._

_D: You really know how to have your way with me, you evil minx. What will you do then?_

_E: I straddle you feeling your very hard member on my belly. I bite your neck, and then lick that sensitive spot. I think you've learnt your lesson. Are you going to be a good boy now?_

_D: Yes. To do whatever is asked of me. Can I be rewarded by your breasts?_

_E: Yes. I'm untying you now. Do whatever you want to._

_D: I turn you over and move on top of you. I start kissing you from the neck, along the back reaching your ass and licking it hungrily before moving to your thighs._

_E: My boobs want more attention. Focus._

_D: I turn you around violently and squeeze your boobs hard, before taking one in my mouth, circling my tongue slowly around it in rushed strokes, while my fingers play with your other nipple pinching it._

_E: And then?_

_D: How good are your boobs at being held together and being ravished by a shaft moving in and out through them?_

_E: They love it. But now it needs to move through something else._

_D: In that case, you'll have to push down and lubricate it in your mouth once, before it enters where it craves to._

_E: I giggle. I kiss the tip once and lick it up and down. I slowly take it in my mouth and gently suck on it. You hold my head there and I continue licking your shaft. When you're close enough, I impale myself on you. And you take the lead._

_D: I can never get enough of your mouth. I force your legs apart as I enter you, and feel your hot flesh enveloping my cock as it moves in and out of your vagina._

_E: I take your hand and move it to my breasts, bouncing up and down. Taking you in again and again._

_D: Oh I love these breasts. I lie back in absolute pleasure as you move on top of me. What are you doing right now?_

_E: What do you think? ;)_

_D: Really? What's on your mind? And how are your fingers doing?_

_E: One hand is teasing my nipple and the other is drawing circles on my clit. What are you doing?_

_D: I'm having a very difficult time trying to fit into my boxers. I wish you were here to take care of me._

_E: Touch yourself. Imagine me stroking your length and squeezing it._

_D: And playing with my balls?_

_E: Yes. Torturing your balls._

_D: And then?_

_E: Squeezing them, running my tongue all over them, deep throating you_

_D: And how will you torture my dick?_

_E: By placing light kisses all over it and then moving one finger over the tip until it's dripping with precum. Then tasting it while you watch. Taking the same finger and dipping it into my core and making you taste it. I take you in my mouth. All of you and bob my head up and down. You hold my hair and push me into you as my tongue draws patterns on your dick like it's my personal canvas. My teeth brush against you and you hiss, I like it. I take you deeper into my throat as you fuck my mouth, enjoying the warmth. One hand holds you in place and the other moves to your balls squeezing them. After a few minutes you cum deep in my throat._

_D: I need to have that now. Your mouth, right now._

_E: I want my fun too. What do you want to do with me?_

_D: I go get liquid chocolate and pour it between your breasts. I make you lie down flat and move up higher till my dick is right on top of your face. I slide it down in your mouth and move it all the way into your throat. Then I move a little lower and make you clamp both your breasts together as I slide my dick between them from the bottom. I move fast churning all the chocolate between your boobs with the now very dark brown dick which reaches near chin with every thrust. _

_E: Chocolate! I want a taste now!_

_D: All yours. :)_

_E: I lick up all the chocolate and swirl my tongue around your dick. You lick my breasts and eat up whatever your dick missed. Then you attack my mouth and I taste chocolate on your lips. I explore your mouth as hungrily as you explore mine. _

_D: I want._

_E: What do you want?_

_D: As a confession, I'm a little too insanely obsessed with your boobs. Your mouth. Your breasts. Your thighs._

_E: Well, they're all yours. You just need to wait a while._

_D: Ahhhh. Elena! When do I get to lay my hands on you?_

_E: Soon. Real soon. I'm coming back tomorrow. See you then babe._

_D: I love you Lena. I miss you._

_E: I love you too. Gotta go now. Have to pack._

_D: Bye_

Who knew that our lives would change so much in such a short time. It was sometime in the December of 2009 when Jeremy had his first paid exhibition and Elena and I had had this not so PG-13 conversation via texts. And in the fall of 2011, we had that horrible accident only to forget everything about each other and by some twisted strike of fate, in the summer of March 2012, we met again; as complete strangers. In that interim period when our marriage was on pause, we had missed so much. And if things went the way they were going right now, I would never have my Elena back by our anniversary in July.

I miss you Lena. I miss everything about you. When we meet and spend so much time together, I wish you would just slap me on the chest and say 'ha! Got you!". I get this surge of hope through me when your glance lingers on me for just a second longer, when your fingers touch mine for just a moment more, when you hang onto every word I say, when you giggle at my jokes, when you ramble, when you smile at my compliments, when you get that dazed look in your eye when you remember something but don't tell me about it, when you realize that you have to go and that idea saddens you. I wish you would just wake up, please wake up Elena. I miss you so so much.

I know I used to say that I was a perfectly grown man who could function with without any other person being with me or not, but I was wrong. I was only preparing to live my life with you until that night in the office, I was one half of the beautiful couple that we are, I was incomplete. These things sound crony and cheesy and something those characters would say in those sappy drama shows that you love so much but it's true. It's so true that I want to go back to the past and tell 20 yr old me that it's all true.

_You dancing freely in the rain, you getting angry on petty things and picking up fights with me, your small childlike pranks, the naughty glint in your eyes, your carefree forwardness, the wavy length of your hair, your hands never leaving mine, you turning back to see me off, your promise to love me forever, your senseless requests, your burning desire, your boundless dreams, your contagious kindness, I'll love them and I'll love you for as long as I live. _

_As long as I live, as long as I live._

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**_Reviews are love. :)_**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello peeps!**

**Another chapter.**

**My exams start on the 24th, hence updates shall be even more frequent. ;) **

**Review, even if you just want to talk. If you like the way I write, PM me, we can catch up more on my blog. **

**Hope you like this chapter, though this'll only raise more questions than it answers. **

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**(Jeremy's POV)**

**(That night)**

This felt good. It had been a while and being alone with Bon felt amazing. We had just launched into a full make out session when my pocket started vibrating.

"In all the time I've known you, Jer, this has never happened. Is this PTSD? Please tell me that that's just your phone?"

"Ha ha. Wait."

It was Damon.

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"_Jeremy Adrian Gilbert. Where the fuck are you? And how the fuck did you leave my wife all alone when she wasn't well?"_

"_Hey hey, calm down. I'm with Bonnie. What's wrong with Elena?"_

"_She has 104 fever, so weak that she couldn't even stand up on her own. Are you out of your mind? Going out for a romantic dinner with your girlfriend when your sister is dying!?"_

"_Hey, she was fine when I left. She basically threw me out of the house. Wait a sec, what are you doing there? Are you at the house? Damon, you're supposed to take it easy, you're supposed to let her take it easy."_

"_Yeah yeah, it's a good thing I came actually. She's really sick right now. And by now, you should know your sister enough to know that she would never want to bother anyone else even if she was dying."_

"_I'm sorry man. I'll get there as soon as I can, okay?"_

"_Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I snapped at you. Stay with Bonnie for the night, you guys shouldn't have to put your life at hold just because ours have been paused. I'll stay with Elena."_

"_Damon are you sure that's okay?"_

"_Yeah, I spoke to Dr Shephard. She says her tests came back fine. So me being with her is the only thing we can do now."_

"_Well, okay. Call me if anything happens. Elena promised but I know she won't."_

"_Will do. Bye. And say 'hi' to Bon-bon for me, kay?"_

"_That's only for Lena, okay!"_

"_Yes little brother."_

"_Bye."_

**(Elena's POV)**

**(A couple of days later)**

Damon and I had been meeting more than often now and Jeremy seemed fine with it. It was weird because even though he was the younger brother, he had always had an 'I'm responsible for Elena hence shall threaten her boyfriends at least thrice' thing ever since high school. I remember when I had just started dating Matt, Jeremy as a bonding initiative had taken him out for shooting practice and shown off how good an aim he had. Matt, no less had shown him how his dad who used to be a cop had trained him well. Needless to say, I had a pretty good laugh when Jeremy came back home all pissed off and well, burnt. I still can't forget his face when he walked in after the outing.

Jeremy knew I was hanging out with a mysterious guy but didn't know any details. But even then! He had had a stronger reaction about my choice in pizza toppings! He should have asked me more about him, right? Especially since there was the whole forgotten spouse issue?

Well, anyway, I was running late for my lunch date with Damon. Wait, what? Date?

I put on my brown leather jacket remembering the comment Damon had made when he put his jacket on me because it suddenly got really cold this one time that we had met for dinner. I put on my boots and assessed myself in the mirror. I looked good. Cool.

My car was still in the shop getting fixed and Jeremy wasn't home so I decided to take a cab. But as soon I stepped out of the door I blacked out.

**(Damon's POV)**

I was super worried by now. Elena was supposed to meet me two hours ago and she still was nowhere to be found. I called her for the hundredth time and still no answer. I called Jeremy and he said she wasn't home, nor was she at any friend's place.

I checked the park, called Mrs Flowers if she had seen Elena but no one had a clue where she might've gone. I checked the hospital but she wasn't there either.

Four hours and still no luck. I had tried all our usual places but she wasn't there either. She wasn't at the café we went to for our first date; she wasn't at my house, or anywhere.

Five hours and counting. I was pulling out my hair figuring out where she might be when I thought of one place where she might have gone. It was a dead trail but it could be the one, I didn't think she'd remember but I had to try.

I parked my car hastily along the curb when I spotted her, sitting on the bench like she didn't have to give a care in the world. I never thought she might come here but still, here she was. This was where she had come back to me after she had realized that Elijah was just a crush. This was where she had said that she loved me for the first time. This was where our journey began. Did she remember? She had to. She looked peaceful and oh so beautiful. Sitting there in her brown leather jacket and knee length boots. She looked like a model, a very beautiful model. The only thing I was concerned about was that she was safe. She was okay. Oh thank God she's safe.

I sent a quick text to Jeremy saying that I had found her and that I'd explain later and rushed to her side. I slipped into the spot next to her but she still hadn't turned around.

"Fancy meeting you here, Lena."

On that she turned around and registered her surroundings. She went from calm and composed to confused and terrified in just three seconds.

"Damon?" She sounded scared. She started panicking as soon as it clicked and was close to hyperventilating when I took her hand in mine and said, "Elena, it's okay. Let me just take you home."

She tried to wrap her mind around everything and nodded before saying, "I'm scared, Damon."

I couldn't not take her in my arms then, she looked so scared and her eyes were tearing up.

"Oh baby, I know. It's okay. Let's just get you home first. It's okay. I'm here."

"Don't ever leave me, please. "

"I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

Scared brown orbs met piercing blue ones and both calmed down a little seeing the other one's presence.

She was quiet during the ride, not one word. She didn't even comment when I changed the channel on the radio because the stupid RJ started talking about memories. She didn't look at me even once, she just stared out of the window. When I parked outside her house, I sighed and looked at her. She was looking at her hands, her eyebrows huddled together, determination in her eyes and panic in her heart. I got out, went over to her side and opened the door. To an onlooker she must've looked okay but in her eyes, she was completely lost, baffled… just shaken.

"Damon, I.." she was at a loss for words, I took her face in my hands, carefully cupped her cheeks and looked her straight in the eyes before saying, "It's okay. You're okay. You've been through a terrible ordeal and these things happen. But you're fine. Okay?"

"But, I don't know what happened. One second I was getting ready to meet you and the next second you were with me at that place. I don't know what happened!?"

"Shhh.. Elena. I get it. It happened, you're okay. Everything is going to be okay."

"You found me." A mere whisper and if I wasn't paying such close attention, I might've missed it.

"A long time ago, you were the one to find me. I'm simply repaying the favor."

"Thankyou, I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't saved me."

"You can always count on me. I'm never leaving you okay?"

She got out of the car and started walking towards her house. I didn't know whether it would be prudent to go in with her but while I was deliberating this, she walked up to the front porch and then ran back towards me and hugged me, almost knocking the both of us to the ground but I took support from the car and hugged her back. She had her arms around my neck like a vice and I was holding her waist. Running on pure adrenaline, the hug was still sort of processing in my mind because I didn't realize when she took a step back and kissed me. Elena kissed me. My wife kissed me.

She misunderstood my shock and started apologizing right away.

So I kissed her again, this time not just a chaste peck but a deeper and more passionate one.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello people of the internet**

**I'm so sorry about not posting this sooner. I said I would and then I didn't. Sorry. I hope you like this chapter. The next one is almost done and so is the one after that. So, the story is going to go fairly smoothly now. **

**Review please? Thankyou. :)**

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**(Elena's POV)**

I kissed him. I couldn't think of anything else that would show him how thankful I was and how deep my feelings had developed for him. I had to somehow convey to him that I had feelings for him and no matter how hard I tried, they weren't going anywhere.

I had been sitting there on my own doing nothing with no idea about what was going on, I just was. And then I heard his voice and I came back to reality. I had ended up at this weird place that I did not remember for some reason that I did not understand and yet despite everything, he was there. I was losing myself piece by piece and he was there through it all, helping me. I was falling for him and falling hard. But with all these new emotions in my heart, the guilt just wouldn't go away.

His eyes were confused and his breath hot and fast mingling with mine. His hair were disheveled from where my hands had reached into. He gave me a puzzled look and I blushed even more. I brought my hand up to his face and cupped it, kissing him on the lips once more.

"Thankyou… for everything" I didn't want to sound so low but couldn't manage more than a whisper, my breath was still ragged and his eyes cleared a little, only to be filled with some emotion I didn't quite understand. But he nodded and then smirked. I started walking towards the house again when I heard his voice.

"Elena, this changes things."

"I know." And I walked away, leaving him standing there alone.

**(Damon's POV)**

I knew she would freak out the second she walked in that door but sadly I had to sit out on another one Elena's dilemma's because we weren't that close yet. She kissed me and accepted that the kiss changed a lot of things but I still couldn't go inside and hug her and tell her not to feel guilty about the kiss because of the forgotten-spouse issue. My life was one clichéd romcom movie.

**(Elena's POV)**

It had been a few days since my last episode, since the epic kiss, and since I almost revealed my feelings for Damon to him. When I came back, I demanded to know what exactly was wrong with me because what happened today should not have happened if my brain was working the way my doctor kept telling me. Something like losing every sense in the world and not realizing where one's body was taking them was definitely not some PTSD symptom. There was something seriously wrong with me. Jeremy fessed up about the gravity of the situation and told me that this wasn't my first blackout, and all the tests he had been getting done for me weren't really follow up exams but preparatory tests for whatever the heck my brain was doing to my body.

I hadn't spoken to Damon since the kiss and I missed him. Like every bone in my body ached to see him, hear his voice, touch him and most of all… to kiss him again. But my stupid brain was making my heart ache with all the residual guilt over almost cheating on my husband with some guy I worked with.

I was falling in love with someone I could touch and see and talk to, when I was supposed to be in love with some shadow of a man whom I didn't even remember. Someone who wasn't looking for me, wasn't trying to find me and I was feeling in the wrong for spending so much time with Damon. I had thought about confronting Jeremy about my husband and weeding the name out of him so that I could meet my supposed-husband and kick some sense into him. But why were they so reluctant in telling me his name, I asked myself. Was he dead? Were Caroline and Jeremy not telling me my husband's name because I was still fragile and they didn't want me to have a nervous breakdown and die, like him? Oh god. Was he dead? I felt even more at fault for tainting the memory of our marriage. I had to find out about him, had to. Because to be able to do anything more with Damon, to take whatever feelings I had forward, to do what I wanted, to want what my heart wanted, to love him, I had to have my conscience clear. I needed my head clear before I took anything forward with Damon. With that resolution made, I took a step back and controlled myself.

As advised by my doctor, I had to take a longer leave from work and stay at home to let my body play out whatever it wanted since the scans hadn't caught anything yet. So on one of those particularly good days, I decided to head up to the office and hand in my leave extension along with my doctor's prescriptions regarding the extension.

As I stepped in, I tried to remember whatever last memory I could from my days at the office…

_I was sitting on my desk trying to think of some other clever advert ideas for this phone company who were going through a total revamping of their products and stuff. They had decided to go all out and they needed some smart and funny idea binding everything together. I had been at it for a few hours, researching and looking up whatever information I could about the company. My head was starting to ache with the constant computer usage when April walked in. _

"_I'm telling you. One more campaign with Elijah and I will kill him."_

"_I'm working here, April. And when will you stop complaining about Elijah. Especially to me. I'm not his girlfriend"_

"_Well. You guys just haven't acknowledged it yet. You're always hanging out together, you go for field research together, and you are the oooonly one in this entire agency who can understand his jokes. If I didn't know you, I would have called you guys out on doing the nasty a long time back."_

"_We're so not."_

_She gave me this weird look, calling me out on my futile attempt at covering my farce._

"_Okay. Fine! I like him a little too much. Okay?"_

"_There it is! Don't ever lie to me E. I know everything."_

"_Yeah yeah. Now get out of my cabin, I have work to do."_

"_I didn't come here for idle chitchat okay? I have actual work for you."_

"_If it was a different time, I would have jumped at the opportunity but I'm swamped."_

"_I wouldn't ask if it wasn't absolutely important E. Lexie is going on her maternity leave and somewhere in that pea sized knocked brain of hers, she forgot some work for this campaign that the other creative team if working on. The meeting is tomorrow, he needs it by tonight."_

"_Don't say that about Lexie. She's my friend."_

"_She'd be a better one if she did her own work herself."_

"_Alright. I'll stay tonight."_

"_Yay! Thankyou! I owe you. Lunch, my treat tomorrow."_

"_Get out of here now."_

"_Fine. But don't forget okay?"_

_I turned back to my computer screen when I heard open again._

"_Oh, I almost forgot, the planning guy for this project will come by and explain things to you later, okay? I'll give him your number and everything. You guys coordinate from there."_

"_Coolio."_

"_Bye E. You're the best." She said in a sing-song voice and left._

_Phew. I had a long and tiring day ahead of me._


	18. Chapter 18

**Elena's POV**

That was the last thing I remembered, everything after that was blank. I headed into the building and moved towards my boss' cabin to hand in my extension letter.

I knocked twice before hearing a faint 'come in' from inside and then I opened the door and went inside.

"Elena? Hi… how are you?"

The surprised expression on his face quickly turned to one of sympathy. This was by far the hardest and most annoying thing to deal with ever since the accident. I had finally come out of the 'lost her parents in one night' phase and now it was the whole 'lost her memory and her husband in one night' phase. I hated looking at people with their head cocked to one side and a small smile on their faces, their eyes looking at me like I was going to break any second, and quite sighs after every reply from me. I hated it.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Finally got the job."

"Yeah, I noticed. I was kinda hoping to run into Derek here, but it's nice to see that someone is moving on! Good for you Elijah."

"Yeah yeah. About that. Jeremy already called me. He told me you'd be coming in."

That was confusing. The familiarity with which he was talking about Jeremy was not that of a fellow colleague but more. There was definitely more to the story.

"Huh. Well, not much to do then. These are my reports and stuff, incase the admin people ask for them. Don't want anyone getting into trouble because of me."

"Yeah, that shouldn't. No. no."

"What's wrong Elijah? You seem confused. Is your brain playing games with you too?" I joked. Trying to lighten the mood with chatty banter.

"Umm.. No. I'm fine. Just a little out of place. Nothing to worry about. You go home and rest, get back to work as soon as possible. We all miss you around here."

"Okay. I'll keep you posted." I smiled and started moving towards the door.

"Bye Elena. Take care of yourself."

"I will E. Bye."

I stepped out of the cabin, more confused than before. Did something happen between Elijah and me? Because the way he was looking at me felt a little uncomfortable. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the chirpy voice of my favorite person in the agency-April.

Heading over to her desk, I shouted "April! Hey! What's been up?"

"Elena! Oh god! It's so good to see you again!"

She ran over to me and hugged me.

"You know the first person I thought about when I walked in here? You. And here you are. I thought you'd be off today."

"Yeah, some extra work. We're missing two of our best employees. And you know me, I don't really like new people."

"You need to give them a chance April."

"Yeah yeah. Come here, you. It's been soo long."

"Haha! So much hugging. If I didn't know you better, I would have thought that you had a little crush on me, you little girl."

"Hah you wish!"

"I have so much catching up to do. Come have lunch with me!"

"Shoot. What about tomorrow. I have to accompany my team for a meeting with some client and we're leaving in ten minutes."

"Oh. No problem. Tomorrow it is, then."

"See you then E"

"See you A. Bye now."

I thought I should call and tell Jeremy that I was heading home but couldn't seem to find my phone anywhere. Without looking at where I was walking, I tried to look for my phone in my bag when I crashed with a hard chest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I said as I looked up to see that it was only Elijah.

"Oh, Elijah. It's you. I was just on my way out."

"Oh. No problem at all. Take care. "

"Yeah yeah."

"Elena. Wait. Can we talk?"

"I thought I could go on without telling you this, but I can't."

"Elijah, what are you talking about?"

"Is there any chance for us, Elena? I know I messed up, I know I took you for granted, I should have respected you and been there for you like he was. I'm sorry and I can show you that I've changed. All this time of staying away from you and watching you with him, that has taught me so much. I still love you. Please? I know you guys are married but look where that got you! You always fight. He even went ahead and crashed his car with yours."

"Elijah. What. are. You. Talking. About?"

"You and Damon!"

Damon? What the hell? Damon and I were married. Damon was my hus..husband? Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't anyone tell me!? My face must have explained my confusion to atleast a little extent because his hand suddenly went up to his face and he gasped.

"You still don't remember. Do you?"

I shook my head, unable to get any words out of my mouth.

"Oh fuck. I shouldn't have. I'm so sorry Elena. So so sorry."

"It's okay. I had to remember some time, right? "

"But not like this. I'm so sorry Elena."

"It's fine Elijah. Listen, I have to get back home now. I'm sorry about whatever happened between the two of us, but I'm married now."

I hugged him once and quickly left the building. With all the thoughts in my head, I couldn't think straight.

Damon was my husband. I was married to Damon and he didn't tell me. He didn't help me with whatever was happening? My own brother wasn't doing anything to help. My husband didn't try and help. Most importantly, he let me believe that we were friends or something, let me kill myself with guilt over feeling something for him when I should have been looking for my husband.

I sent a quick text to Jeremy telling him that I was having lunch with April and then texted Damon.

I called him to the same place where I had apparently confessed my love to him, in full confrontational mood. How could he hide this from me? All I could see was red. How could he not tell me? Was I some sort of puppet that he could toy around with as per his liking? He was supposed to be my husband, for forever and always, till death do us part, for better and for worse, in freaking sickness and health, I'm sure that amnesia was one of the applicable sicknesses the contract of our marriage entailed. How could he not tell me? Why?

**(20 minutes later)**

He stood there; absolutely clueless about why I had called him there. The emotions on my face giving nothing away but if he were to come closer, he would feel my heart beating in my chest and know. I knew for a fact, with every drop of blood in my body that if we so much as touched me, I would break and never let him go again. There was a part of me that wanted to do nothing more than celebrate that Damon was my husband. I loved him in this new life, I loved him before fate took away my memories, I loved him in every life I had. I wanted to run over to him and hug him, kiss him, love him, touch him, melt into him.

But there was another part of me that was hurting. I was hurt, I felt betrayed, I felt cheated, and I felt deceived. My brother, my best friend, my _husband_ didn't tell me the most vital piece of information that I had missed. Even when I mentioned Damon's name infront of Jer and Care, they didn't tell me that he was the love of my life, that he was my everything, they saw that I was hurting, that I was losing myself slowly because of what I had missed and they didn't tell me. I was in physical pain, angry at everyone but mostly at Damon.

I think the expression on my face must've changed because Damon's changed understood now, the reason for this meeting.

He whispered, "Elena." And tried to move closer but I had put my walls up by now.

"Don't."

"I'm so sorry. I was waiting for the right time."

"Right time?" I didn't realize when my volume rose two octaves.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. Let me be there for you. I know you're hurt and angry but I'm here now. We're here. Let me help you."

I was dangerously close to the edge, he was playing with a very fragile heart, but the amount of pain in his voice almost had me caving in.

"You said you were my friend… that you understood. You said we were close. We kissed Damon! And you just stood there while I berated myself in guilt, while I almost killed myself because I felt guilty about cheating on you with you! I was in pain, in physical pain, my condition was worsening every hour and you didn't do anything! Where were you Damon? Where were you? I needed you, I needed my husband and you weren't there. Why weren't you there?" I fell to my knees with my head in my hands, tears falling from my cheeks.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I was soon engulfed in strong arms. But I couldn't feel the warmth that I usually did. I just couldn't. He was whispering nonsensical words mixed with apologies and regret, I could hear him, I could hear the anguish he was feeling but I couldn't react.

I moved away from him and with no emotion in my voice but every bit of pain I was feeling evident on my face I said, "I waited. I waited for you. And you weren't there."

"Elena, I can't explain how sorry I am for waiting. I couldn't string it onto you like that. I had to wait for you to remember… I'm so sorry sweetheart. I wanted to be the one to tell you. You have no idea how much I've waited for this moment, for when you'd remember everything and everything would be fine."

"That's it Damon. That's the problem. I don't remember ANYTHING. All I can remember is your betrayal. Nothing else."

"What? How? How do you know then?"

"Elijah told me. He didn't know that I still don't remember. The fact is that _he_ told me and not you."

"Elena, I…"

"Don't say anything anymore. Just don't. I'm leaving. Don't follow me. Don't call me."

"But you're my wife Elena. I'm your husband. And I love you. Please don't do this to yourself. Please let me be there. Take it out on me, please."

"I don't want to. Okay?" I finished, trying not to look into his eyes because my heart wanted nothing more than to let him take care of me.

His face fell.

"Please just leave me alone. You forgot about me once, try and do that again. Please."

"I'll never stop loving you, Elena. Till my last gasping breath, till whenever I'm alive, I'll never stop loving you. You need time, I understand that. Please know that I'll always be here. I'm not giving up just yet."

"Don't make this harder for me Damon. Ple-ase." My voice broke and I knew I had to get away from him before I really lost it.

"Goodbye Damon. Forever. Or at least a very long time" And I ran towards my car.

Just before getting into my car, I looked back at him and saw him wiping away his tears. If there was any piece left intact in my heart, I swear that shattered too.

**Damon's POV**

**(Flashback-31****st**** December 2008)**

_We had been fighting about something trivial from the last Grey's Anatomy episode which had as usual blown into a full blown feminist argument from Elena's side and had as usual ended by me picking her up bridal style and having wild sex. _

_I had been thinking about taking the next step for a while now, I was happier than ever and more than one people had told me that. Elena seemed to fill up all the voids I had felt before I met her. We had reached a point where we were so comfortable and open with each other that she had told me about Elijah and I had told her about Katherine. Of course we knew of each other's past but the real details had also been cleared now. She admitted that what she felt for Elijah was nothing more than an infatuation and I had admitted that Katherine was nothing more than an obsession. Our love was true and pure; it was good for both of us. We were growing together, just like a healthy relationship should. Elena was reaching parts of me that I didn't even know existed and I was helping her come out from the darkness around her parent's death. Everything was perfect; Stefan and Caroline had also accepted us. There was no question of not accepting Elena but for me, Caroline and Jeremy had finally given me the go-ahead. _

_She was sleeping, her heart was beating slowly and her breaths were deep and even. I had to ask her right now. Tomorrow was a new day, a new year, a new beginning; I had to ask her right now. _

"_Damon, I'm tired and I have to organize that party tomorrow remember?"_

"_Marry me, Elena."_

_I didn't ask her, I told her. With no doubt in my mind, no wavering in my voice, I told her._

_I guess she was still half asleep so didn't fully understand what I had just said._

"_Wha-?"_

"_Marry me; let's start the New Year together, in every way possible. Marry me, Elena."_

"_Damon…" She whispered._

_I kissed her confusions and doubts away. _

"_Yes." _

"_Say it again."_

"_Yes, I'll marry you. You exasperating stubborn cocky boy. I love you. YES! In every language, a thousand times yes!"_

"_What do you say we do now, Mrs Salvatore?"_

_She giggled at that. "I like it. Don't you think it sounds just too good to be true?"_

"_Mrs Salvatore. I don't know, sounds more like meant to be."_

"_Meant to be. Yes. I love you."_

"_I love you Lena. "_

**(Present Day, back at the Salvatore mansion, a few hours after meeting Elena)**

Elena needed time. I knew that. She would come back to me. I was certain of it. I just needed to wait. We were meant to be. She just needed time.

My phone buzzed. Unknown number. Huh.

"Damon Salvatore?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"I'm calling from Mercy West. You need to get to the hospital right now."

The man on the line waited a second. I was beyond confused. I was done with my treatment. Why were they calling me now?

"There's been an accident. It's your wife."


	19. Chapter 19

**I know this one is really short. But fret not, the next one will be up real soon.**

**:)**

**Also, I should say this, all the medical jargon is from Grey's Anatomy. I own nothing. **

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**(Damon's POV)**

Stable . For now.

Sleeping right now. Critical condition.

No critical injuries. One broken rib.

Broken glass from the windshield. Scarring all over face.

No concussion. Seizures.

Every safe condition was coupled with a scarier dangerous condition. It was a seizure that caused the accident.

Elena had a seizure.

My _wife_ had a seizure

Elena was driving when she had a seizure and she crashed it.

And now her face was covered with cuts and bruises. Her rib slash ribs were broken. She was having seizures. It had just been months since our accident where she lost her memory, she had just faced a major betrayal from her husband and she still didn't remember me. I could sit with her for as long as she was sleeping, but I had to move out as soon as she woke up because she was in a mood where she needed space _away _from me. The only okay news in whatever the doctor had said was that she was stable right now and because of the sedatives, she wasn't in any pain at the moment. The only good thing about her condition. But I knew, that it was only the calm before the storm.

I was scared. I could NOT lose her. She is my everything. She's my Elena and I'm her Damon. We can't live without each other. I can't lose her.

Her hand was in my hand. I was whispering prayers to whatever God Elena prayed to when I needed help, I was begging that power to give her back to me. I could not think of a life where I didn't have Elena by my side.

Jeremy was outside with the doctor, explaining our situation to the doctor and talking to him about possible repercussions of the accident. Caroline and Stefan sat huddled I the corner, holding each other's hands. Caroline was sobbing. Bonnie was outside, getting decent coffee for everyone. This was the magic of this woman who lay on this bed, face ashen pale, lips dull blue and her beautiful auburn hair into a tight ponytail. She brought people together.

"Please, Lena. Wake up. Come back to me." I whispered. Stefan heard it and looked at me with an odd mix of sympathy, pain and fear. I moved my eyes back to Elena, to check if there was any reaction, but in vain.

One hour. Still no change.

"I promise I'll never fight about office stuff at home. I promise I'll never make you eat pickles, not even on dares. I promise I'll get you that Blu-ray pack of Grey's Anatomy. I promise I'll duel with you after I learn all the spells in the Harry Potter kingdom. I promise I'll never let you down again, I promise I'll never fail you again. Please, just please come back to me. Please, Lena."

My voice was cracking. Caroline's sobs increased in background. Jeremy came back into the room, apparently having heard my plea, he placed one hand on my shoulder and pressed it comfortingly.

Three hours had passed. I had sent Caroline and Stefan home to rest and come back in the morning. Jeremy adamantly stayed and only left ten minutes back to drop Bonnie off at the house. All four of them had begrudgingly ordered me that they would be back as soon as they were done changing. Bonnie, surprisingly had even said that she was going to get me some food. I was astonished, because Bonnie who hated me and my guts, who had never approved of our relationship completely, who had even tried to get Elena to not have sex with me for a long time after we got together because she didn't trust my intentions, Bonnie had told me to eat whatever she was going to bring. This was all because of Elena. _That's_ how amazingly awesome she is.

I woke up to the sound of a nurse shouting in Elena's room. Elena was shaking wildly, her eyes still shut, and two nurses were trying to hold her down.

"She's seizing again! "

A tired looking doctor dressed in blue scrubs rushed into the room.

Truthfully, I had no confidence in any of these dim witted medical practitioners with God complexes but for now, I was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch as they tried to save my wife to the best of their abilities. I had to have faith in their skill and let them act like God for a while because it was my wife's life at stake and I couldn't lose her.

The second nurse shouted, "She's got diazepam. 2mg morazopam. I just gave a second dose."

There was nothing I could do. I was standing in the corner, shedding silent tears because there was a possibility that I could lose her. Elena, please, come back. I need you. Please.

The doctor was the one to shout now. "The morazopam is not working. Phenolbarbitol. 4 mg of Phenobarbitol!"

The nurse replied, "Pheno's in."

" No change."

The monitor connected to Elena's heart that had been furiously beeping until now flat lined. After all my experiences with hospitals and the countless episodes Elena had forced me to watch, I knew that a flat line meant that Elena's…

"Heart's stopped. " Everyone was working with Godspeed now. Hands moving everywhere, drugs being injected into Elena's IV, monitors being watched. Everyone was everywhere but all I could see was her face. As pale as that of a ghost.

" Code blue! Code blue! … Code blue! Code blue!"

Shit.

That is when a nurse brought in a heart shock machine. The doctor grabbed the paddles and ordered the nurse to charge it to 200. If it was anyone except for Elena, this situation would have been comic because it was exactly like the ones Elena cried her eyes out on Grey's. I saw the doctor follow the exact same procedure those actors did on the show. They all removed their hands from Elena's body and the doctor delivered the shock. But unlike on TV, Elena's monitor didn't show any change. It was still a flat line.

"Still V-FIB. "

" Charging. 19 secs. " So on top of everything else, now there was a stupid underpaid nurse counting down the moments to when the doctor would declare Elena dead.

" Charge them to 300. "

The doctor shocked Lena again, but still no change. My heart was slowly constricting in my chest, as the thought of losing Elena forever entered my mind and slowly solidified its grounds in my mind.

" 27 secs. "

"Charge them to 360! " The doctor sounded even more urgent as she the nurse charged the shocker to its highest setting and everyone prepared to shock Lena again.

Still no change. It was the nurse's turn to encourage Elena now. Maybe she would listen to her, "Come one Miss Gilbert. You can do this. Come on."

The third nurse started performing manual CPR now. I could see her chest rising and falling but the monitor was still showing a flat line. The doctor now looked at me and I saw hopelessness. Elena please.

"Please. Don't give up. Please." The only words my throat would let pass were pleas for them to not give up on my wife and save her, with whatever they could do. I cried harder, unable to stand anymore, I crashed to the floor on my knees.

Gaining a little strength from the broken man whose wife lay flat-lined on the table, the doctor said , "Okay, one more time. Charge again!"

The nurses looked at their superior with an incredulous look. What the hell! Why aren't you doing anything!

I shouted this time, "Charge again!"

One last time, they charged the machine and shocked Elena.

"Anything? " I asked.


	20. Chapter 20

**(Damon's POV)**

"I see sinus rhythm. "

" Blood pressure is coming up. "

"She's coming back."

Elena was alive. She was going to be fine. She wasn't dead.

I rushed to her as soon as the doctors gave me the go ahead and kissed her forehead. I put my hand on her chest right where her heart was and felt it beating. She was going to be fine. We were all going to be fine. I don't know how long I stood there with my hand on her heart, kissing her. Imprinting on my mind that she was fine, she was alive.

Jeremy and Bonnie were the first ones to return. I could infer from their faces that the doctor had told them what happened because Bonnie whom I only remembered as the Ice Queen, the founder of the 'Damon Salvatore Sucks' Club, the one who was always filling Elena's head with flashbacks of my fuck ups and my spontaneous decisions that hadn't turned out so well, the Judgy witch had an extremely sad expression on her face which changed into relief when she saw Elena and comfort when she saw me. Jeremy, on the other hand looked like he would burst out into tears any minute.

He moved to the other side of the bed, took Elena's other hand into his and said, his voice breaking on some words, "Don't you dare leave me all alone. Got it? You stubborn woman, you get this inside that thick skull and into that tiny pea sized brain of yours that you are the only family I have left so you better not go anywhere. Okay Lena? You're not going anywhere."

Bonnie handed over a sandwich and some home made coffee that she had brought, and said in a stern voice, "That better be gone in ten minutes or I'm telling Elena."

"Yes, mother." I replied and went to the chair in the corner; following up the orders I had been given.

Caroline and Stefan rushed in a while later, Caroline went straight to Elena's bed and started crying. Stefan walked up to me and hugged me, telling me in his own language 'She's going to be fine. I'm here for you brother.'

According to the doctor, Elena would wake up any minute now, we just had to wait. Only then could they determine the damage done by the coding and recoding. I retook to my previous position, right next to Elena, Caroline sat on the other side of the bed and the rest of the gang sat on the couch.

Caroline broke the silence, "You might want to wash up a little. You look awful."

"Thanks Blondie." I said sarcastically.

"You'll call me if anything happens. _Anything_ at all, right?"

"Yes Damon. I will."

I left the room to wash my face and change into the clothes Stefan had brought for me. It must've been only a couple of minutes when I started moving back to Elena's room and found Caroline and Stefan standing outside, telling me with their eyes to be prepared.

The doctor was taking out the tube she had put in her chest for breathing but Elena's eyes were still shut. I moved to my seat and waited.

Five minutes. Come on Elena. Just wake up once so I know that I haven't lost you. Please.

I sensed movement in my hand and felt Elena move her fingers.

"Damon?" She croaked.

"I'm here, Lena."

She coughed a little and before I could move, Jeremy was at her side holding out a glass of water with a straw. I smiled at him for the gesture.

"Damon?"

"Elena baby, I'm here. Just open your eyes. I'm here" I wanted to sound affirming, for her sake but couldn't manage anything more than a whisper.

"Damon?" She opened her eyes, finally looking at me. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and smiled. A stray tear fell down my cheek.

She smiled. "I don't like fighting with you. Let's not do it anymore, okay?"

"Whatever you want. As long as you take some driving lessons."

She laughed and then groaned in pain.

"Don't make me laugh, you ass. You need to practice, you're the one who crashed into my car you dumbass."

What? And then it dawned on me. She was talking about our first accident. But before I could tell her or ask her about anything else, the doctor walked in with her chart. She started questioning Elena about how she was feeling and noting down her temperature, the bandages and her pressure.

Elena was fine, a little rehab and physiotherapy, a lot of rest required, she remembered the last few years that she had forgotten but she didn't remember anything about the last few months after the accident. She had reverted back to the first injury.

"Everything looks good. Looks like you are a fighter Elena. But you need to rest now. The impact wasn't too harmful but you do have some injuries that won't heal with your will power. If you'll come with me Damon, there is some paperwork that needs to be filled up and then you can take her home."

"Yeah, sure."

I looked back to Elena, hugged her and kissed the top of her head, whispered "I'll be right back sweetheart." and promptly followed the doctor outside.

The doctor looked cautious but she took a breath and started, "Elena seems to think that this is still October 2012 when you had your first accident. She doesn't remember anything after that." She waited, gauging my reaction but by now I had digested this information well into my system to have reacted harshly.

"So, I can't take her home. Hmm."

"Don't worry. We can take a few roads down here, we can either wait for her to remember, by then you'll have settled back into your routine so it won't affect her as badly. Or you can tell her right now, she seems fine plus she's a fighter so it may 99% go down well. Although she may notice the date change and all"

"So, it's okay that she doesn't remember the last few months. Not critical or anything, right? That's what you're trying to say, right?"

"Yes. As I told you, with the brain you never know. Which leads us to the next topic in the list of topics to be discussed-"

"What caused the accident. Yes."

"Elena's reports came back. It seems like she has an abnormal bleed in her brain. It was very very minute up till now and so we couldn't catch it on any of the previous scans. It's acting up now and needs to be operated on as soon as we can."

Before I could tell her to absolutely go ahead with the surgery so that I could finally take her back home, she interrupted me, "Damon, with a surgery like this, there are a few extra precautions that we need to take. It's an aneurysm. Elena, needs to be absolutely okay and in the right state of mind before we take her into surgery. Given the accident and her already healing body… I would want her to be operated right away, but given the current circumstances, it isn't advised."

"So you're telling me that my wife's brain is slowly bleeding and killing her but you can't operate on her till her body heals which from what I've seen, may take months and by then she may be dead."

"Not months. Just a few days. Take her home, get her settled. Just so that she's mentally stable and most importantly calm for the surgery."

"Calm. Huh. Calm for you to cut open her brain. That'll be easy."

"Damon, I know it'll be hard but I can't give the go ahead for the surgery unless I'm absolutely certain of Elena."

"Can the surgery kill her?"

"Damon…"

"Just tell me doc. Can it? Even if there is a 0.0001 percent chance."

"Yes. Quite a big chance. And that's why we need her to be completely okay otherwise."

I walked back into the room, taking it all in. I saw Elena who was no longer lying down but was in a more laying back position chatting animatedly with Caroline and Bonnie. Stefan and Jeremy just stood two steps away laughing at their girls bitching about a certain Amy from their college.

"Umm.. we'll give you two some privacy." The four shuffled out of the room awkwardly, making Elena giggle. As soon as they were out, I raced up to her bed and took her into my arms, and she melted back in mine. Ignoring all the pain that I was sure the movement was causing to her injuries but we didn't care in that moment. We were together and we were fine.

"Oh Damon, thank God you're here. I was so scared. I'm so sorry about earlier today. I was being stubborn. I love you so much. I'm sorry, so so sorry."

"It's okay baby. The only thing that matters is that you're fine. I'm here baby. I'm here."

"I love you. I love you so much Damon. I'm never going to fight with you. I promise. I'll try and be less stubborn. I love you."

"I love you too, Lena. Don't ever leave me again, okay?"

"I'm here now."

I kissed her and she kissed me back. In a heartbeat, everything was fine. But only for a heartbeat.


	21. Chapter 21

**So.. this is the second last chapter for this fic. I hope I could do justice to Delena. I hope you guys liked it. After this is only the epilogue, which will probably be some cute fluffy scene. You can PM me with suggestions. I'll be waiting. **

**Reviews are love. I think I'm short, send some for me? Please? :)**

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**(Damon's POV)**

"Damon? Why does it say December? It's October, right?"

"Elena, I think we should sit down and get you comfortable first."

"What's going on Damon?"

"I'll explain everything, just don't freak out. Try not to, okay?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I maneuvered her over to the bed and got her settled under the covers. I came back with a glass of ginger ale. She wasn't saying anything, just patiently waiting for my explanation.

I sat down infront of her, waiting for a sure sign, looking for any discomfort on her face, and then began with the long string of clichés that was our life.

"It's not October, Lena. It's December. The accident that you remember happened in October but when we woke up, we had both lost our memory of ever meeting each other. "

She opened her mouth, but closed it without saying anything except for, "Go on."

"We sort of met again when you crashed your scooter into my car, both of us had no recollection of the other so we fought and moved on. A couple of days later, the day after your parents' death anniversary, we were supposed to meet in the café next to our agency, but time has a really mean setting, I had a panic attack because all my memories came back to me. You helped me get to the hospital even though you had no idea who I was. Well, you didn't know that we were married. The doctor said that with cases like our's, you can't push the mind towards remembering because that may cause extra damage, so I told you that were friends and that we were close. I couldn't tell you, I wanted to… trust me, but I couldn't. For your sake, for both of our sakes. We kept meeting; I blame that on our inevitable inescapable pull towards each other… that was when the episodes started."

I looked back at her, she was looking at her hands which were wound in her lap, sensing my eyes on her, she looked up and gestured for me to continue.

"You would lose track of time, and end up not remembering where you are or who you are for some time and come back with no reminiscence of what or where you were. I found you like this, at our spot. You looked so scared and alone when you put it together and realized that something was wrong. Then one day, I don't know how or when, you met Elijah somewhere and he apparently blabbered to you that we were sort of married and you were hurt because I hadn't told you yet. You got mad at me and told me to stop looking for you and ran away. That's when the accident happened and you woke up in the hospital. It's not October, it's December, baby."

She took a deep breath and let it all out calmly. I was surprised at how well she was taking it. But she didn't say anything, I took her hands in mine and placed them on my heart. She looked up at me and smiled.

"You really should have told me, you know I'm stronger than that. But something tells me that there's more, isn't there?"

"Elena, I need to know that you're perfectly alright before I do."

"Damon, I'm here with you, you're here and we're both fine. Tell me so that we can get it cleared and finally live our lives. I'm sick of wasting time and not getting to live."

"Elena, you have a brain aneurysm."

"Okay" She stretched the last syllable, remembering Grey's episodes that dealt with such cases.

"So we get it operated, now."

"It's not that simple. "

I waited a second before continuing. "Meredith wants you to be fully healed, maybe not the bones and all but the rest of you. Physically, you need to fine completely fine with the surgery before they operate."

"I'm fine Damon. Trust me. I know that I'm fine."

"Okay okay. Fine. I'll call her today and get the surgery set up for Monday. Okay?"

"Fine."

"Now, you rest here. Those eyes better be closed and drifting towards dreamland by the time I get back from my shower."

"But baby, you know I can't sleep without you."

"Alright then, I won't be long. Just lay back and rest till then."

She lay back and I put the covers back, tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Lena."

"I love you too."

I woke up some time later, Elena was still sleeping. Her hair tickling my neck, her leg casually thrown over mine and her cheek was lying on my chest. I pulled her in tighter and nuzzled my nose in her hair, taking in her vanilla and lavender scent. I still couldn't believe that she was here, and she remembered me, and that we still weren't out of the water. She still had the surgery to go through. And by the looks Meredith had given while discussing Elena's condition, plus whatever I found on the internet, it did not look good. But my main concern right was my wife, to keep her happy and calm and to be there for her every step of the way.

"Super creepy level unlocked." I heard her say, her voice still groggy from sleep.

"I was just watching you drool all over my chiseled abs."

"I so was NOT drooling. And you do not have chiseled abs. You need to hit the gym again wussy."

"Take that back." I started inching my fingers, wriggling them dramatically, ready to tickle her.

"No." She said and pouted gorgeously.

"Okay okay. Fine. Stop tickling."

"Take it back. Say that Damon is the hottest man alive."

"Damon is- ah!" She screamed in pain and clutched her sides. I stopped that very second, fear clouding my vision.

"Elena, tell me. Where does it hurt? I'm calling Meredith. Shit, I'm so sorry."

Before I could hit dial, she snatched the phone away from my hand and started laughing.

"That was not funny Elena. Don't ever do that."

"Alright alright. Come here you big baby and give me a kiss."

"We'll do the surgery tomorrow, okay? Meredith will do her magic on the bleed and fix me. I will be fine and then we can live our lives. Okay?"

"Are you sure?" I whispered.

"Yes. You know why?"

"Cuz it's you and me."


End file.
